My Path to Integral Health and Human Flourishing

Introduction

            The path to integral health and human flourishing is achieved through conscious effort and choices that foster and encourage the highest of wellness. This wellness includes aspects that improve our psychological, spiritual, and physical development. Not only is this development imperative in our personal lives, but choosing to maintain an occupation in Nursing, obligates our growth to offer the wisdom and guidance for ultimate health in the lives of our patients as well. We must start out this journey by recognizing the possibilities of profound health in our lives, and that we are the key to achieving this. Dacher (2006) states, “The moment we start to seriously invest in growing our inner life and acquiring its natural healing resources, we simultaneously step out of our ordinary ideas about health and begin the climb toward the treasures at the summit of extraordinary health.” (p. 9).

Our psychological life is determined by our consciousness of it. By recognizing that we can see obstacles in our life as problems meant to be solved and not permanent boundaries opens so many doors on our path. Our mental state of mind and our capacity to handle adversity directly impacts our physical health and well being. We must train our minds to the possibility of a life of loving-kindness, and all that allows us to achieve. The signs and symptoms of psychological health according to Dacher (2006) “include a sense of inner control, competence, and self-confidence, creating and sustaining healthy relationships, and having a sense of meaning and purpose in life.” (p.13).  Knowing there are ways that exist to calm the mind and set the tone for eliminating unnecessary suffering is a priceless gift that is achievable by all of us.

Spiritual development seems to be the aspect of our lives that is lacking the most. The culture of our Western influence leaves out the aspect of healing that involves the total being of mind, body, and spirit. It is the idea that our spirituality plays a role in how we deal with stress, how we find joy in the everyday interactions of life, and the feelings of what we want our life to be about that forms who we are. Our spirituality allows us to see our full potential and gain support from what the joys of having a subtle mind and thoughts that foster loving-kindness can bring to our life. This is our portion in life where we can live our religious beliefs and let them flow into the people we want to become; precious human beings with the expanded knowledge that life is what we make it, and anything is possible with the eternal gifts of hope and faith.

Having a strong, fit, and healthy body allows us to keep all the other aspects of our life together. The fact that physical exercise itself produces hormones and neurotransmitters that allow us to deal with stress better and can prevent premature aging and diseases such as hypertension, depression, and stomach ailments speaks for itself. Having physical health allows us to move even closer and recognize the connection between mind and body. “When our understanding of biological life evolves to include its relationship to the mind, we discover that the mind and body are neither separate from each other nor irrevocably set in place at birth.” (Dacher, 2006, p. 42). It is the balance of a strong mind, body, and spirit that is the foundation of integral health and human flourishing.

Integral Health Assessment

Being a deeply religious Christian, I am pleased to recognize that it is my faith and spirituality that allows me to function and contribute to my life and the world around me. The power of prayer in my life is a useful tool of healing and commitment to those unfortunate and in need of lifestyle and spiritual guidance.  My physical well being could always improve with the commitment to make more time for physical activity and consistent food choices. I do exercise about 3 days a week, and my BMI is normal. I put time and effort in to take care of my physical being and make it a priority to keep maintenance health examinations.

My psychological or mental wellness is the area that needs the most attention. I am a very positive person who has had many years of feeling like my feelings do not matter, and am guilty of allowing and dwelling on it. My interpersonal relationships suffer some from always thinking with my emotional brain. We all have those people in our lives that would rather create stress and discontent. I have had several occasions in my life that my psychological well being is a hindrance to overcoming their impact on my life. Instead of realizing they do not have me or my family’s best interests in mind, I internalize it and feel its effects for a long, long time. Anxiety has played a role in my life since I was a child and as an adult have found it to be motivating. This anxiety of sorts could probably be related to being a Type A personality in terms of needing perfection or “things just right” in my life to be content.

My Wellness Goals

My spirituality is the best part about me. I feel that I am in tune to my feelings and the feelings of others. I am grateful for the little moments in life, and really try to never take anything for granted. My goal to further my spirituality is to continue on this path of human flourishing. Keep such meditation exercises as the loving-kindness and Aesclepius practice a part of my daily routine. I will continue to foster my religious beliefs and pray. Prayer has been proven to provide healing properties for those who are prayed for and those who pray more often. By being aware of the role my spirituality plays in my health will always be at the forefront of my day. I will expand my spirituality and evolve through my path of human flourishing because of my strong faith and beliefs. Through daily practice, my goal will never be to forget how much I want ultimate health, happiness, and wholeness.

  Going on my path of forever evolving and elevating my psychological wellness, it will require me to recognize that I am an emotional being, that this is a part of who I am. I must continue to work to have it bring positive things in my life such as compassion, empathy, and gratefulness. I will recognize that when I’m anxious and overwhelmed that I can calm my thoughts and train my mind to problem solve and remember to be thankful for the little things that brought me joy during the day. Instead of focusing on negative things such as feeling uneasy when my home needs tidying, or when someone disregards my feelings, I will remember the gifts in my life and remind myself that I am a good person, and for every person that disregards my feelings, that I have someone who appreciates them. My current goal is to recognize the times that I’m thinking with my emotional brain and not my middle brain that would allow me to connect our emotional brain with our intellectual brain. Another goal is to allow my psychological growth to mature through furthering my education and to be able to recognize the gifts I possess, while knowing that I can also take care of the needs of others while taking care of my own.

The first goal I can focus on to promoting my physical health are the obvious diet and exercise. My goal will be to exercise at least 3 days a week, and more if my schedule and motivation will take me there. I will maintain a healthy diet, and look for new ways of being creative when feeding my children healthy meals to teach them good habits. After all, if we don’t live knowing we are an example to somebody; it won’t hold us accountable for our choices. The next goal will be to always remember that our physical body is an extension of our mental being. You cannot have one without the other, and with a healthy mind comes a healthy body, and so does the same for a healthy body to foster a healthy foundation to nurture our mind.

Practices to Foster My Human Flourishing

As I believe that it takes being efficient in all three aspects of integral health, it would be important to include as many activities that incorporate the concept of mind, body, and spirit. When it comes to practices to promote my physical health while incorporating mind and spirit, the art of Yoga would be helpful. Yoga helps quiet the mind while works to strengthen and elongate muscles. Another activity that I will promote in my life to foster physical wellness will be to organize my schedule to allow for exercise at least three times a week. I am so busy, that it would be easy for me to make excuses. My husband and I actually exercise together which makes us accountable to each other.

My plan to elevate and foster my psychological well being is to make a concerted effort to furthering my education and set goals and deadlines to follow for success. I will also set time aside in my day either in the morning or evening whatever allows, for meditation. I will utilize the Dacher CD to participate in the loving-kindness practice and the Aesclepian healing practice. Those were the meditation practices that allowed me to focus more and get the greatest results from. Meditation will allow me to clear my thoughts and feel the needed calm and support while I work toward my progression for integral health.

My spirituality is very important to me and I recognize that it is the positive people in my life that bring me closer to it. I will vow to surround myself with positive people who portray loving-kindness and support me in my religious and spiritual journey. An additional activity that will foster my spirituality is to attend church on a regular basis and pray for those in need. These types of activities soften our hearts and allow us to feel a piece of mind and comfort that we can take care of ourselves, but know there are reasons for everything. For truly it is in His plan!

My Commitment

My commitment to my path for integral health will only be as productive as the time and effort I put into it. My plan to maintain my commitment is to share it with others. To have them help me on my journey and make me accountable. I also feel by doing this, that I will also expose others to the practices and path to human flourishing and have more support in my own journey when others present are living by the same ways of loving-kindness. I think to be able to make such a lifestyle change the biggest person you have to hold accountable for it, is yourself. By making mental notes and checking in with my thoughts daily will allow me to stay focused on the ultimate reward. I feel that by working on this path everyday that my goals will be evident and realized in the results and the feelings of contentment. This paper will also be a reminder along with the texts that have followed us through this course. I plan to utilize the web sites and resources located at the back of Dacher (2006). This text has become one of my favorite reads, and honestly, I have probably gotten through its entirety 5 times already. I plan on checking in with my goals every two months to be sure I’m on the right path and assess if I need to change course and focus on a different meditation practice or different area of need. I also feel for this commitment to remain steadfast is to remember the quote that started it all, “Learn how the integral approach will lead you to a more profound, precious, and enduring level of health, happiness, and wholeness.” (Dacher, 2006, cover). Never stop learning and growing though the practices of integral health and human flourishing!

References

Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing.

Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications.