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The quantifiable life questions that we ask each other (i.e., how are you today?, when will you ever decide to have children?) in passing, in general or in pseudo-intimate conversations may seem daunting, but it is really the existential questions (e.g., what is the meaning of life? What is my purpose in life? how do I cooperatively create deeper meaning and cultivate peace in my life and the world around me?), that we must ask and answer ourselves in the truly intimate discourse of our mind, that pose the most challenge, render us most vulnerable, and therein offer the greatest opportunity for profound reflection and healing. This challenging internal discourse can teach us how to surmount all that seeks to oppress us along our life's journey toward integral healing.
What is Integral Healing?
Preparation for the Journey Toward Integral Healing
Dr. Elliot Dacher (2006) lists the following as preparatory steps to ready the mind and spirit to embark upon integral healing: Engage in regular reflection - constant reflection upon the preciousness of life in general and our own life in particular; make a decision to cultivate an attitude of loving-kindness; become a highly-skilled communicator and a person who acts in a manner that mitigates the perpetuation of disturbing outer experiences that cause distress to others or yourself; strive each day to create an oasis of quiet and stillness, a quiet place to ponder the elements of your life, and divide the necessary from the marginal and unnecessary elements of your life.
A deeper look at the preparatory steps outlined by Dacher (2006) provide practical application and personal context for each exercise:
1. Loving-Kindness: This step encourages us to develop a loving embrace toward all people by first developing the attitude and practice toward ourselves. Dacher (2006) describes the process as, "opening our hearts with kindness, care, patience, and generosity toward their [others'] needs." Loving-kindness is important to my personal health because it reminds me to release offense and by doing so to live free from the weight of grudges.
2. Skillful Action: This step is an exercise that we have the opportunity to do every day. This step focuses on the avoidance of behavior that creates obstacles and encourages conscious participation in behaviors that promote inner development. This step is important because it reminds us to constantly assess our behavior and remain committed to peace, stillness, wellness, and integral health, on a daily basis; this portion of the preparedness process can be very challenging and that's why having opportunities throughout the day, every day, to recommit to the exercise and lifestyle is imperative.
3. Silence and Stillness: This step focuses on the practice and value of silence and stillness. There are several adjunct steps to this preparatory practice, they are as follows: Be conscious of the outward noise and environment in which you spend your time; create internal calm, in the sanctity of our own mind; the third step is one that comes to the more seasoned practitioner and it's a state of natural calm in ones' mind, where your mind effortlessly maintains a peaceful homeostatic state in all situations and under all circumstances.
Personal Assessment: Physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being
I will give myself a modest rating for all three categories of well-being at the moment. I know where I've been in the past in each area and also have an idea of my goal in each area, and I know I am currently functioning far beneath my own standards. Why? I am in a place of physical, spiritual, and mental recovery after a devastatingly damaging three-year relationship that consumed my life -- a relationship with such a high price that the only tender to satisfy it would be my very life if it continued. In this relationship I lost myself, my zeal, my goals, and a certain level of self respect. At the lowest point therein I stopped praying, eating, sleeping, and only existed because what I describe here is not living, just existing.
Physical Goal: I have completely changed my nutritional regimen in the past few months; I have transitioned from being a life-long carnivore to a totally-committed vegan. My physical goals are nutritional more than weight or fitness-based. My goal is to continue along this exciting nutritional path, to research and incorporate life-force rich food and supplements into my dietary regimen, to heal my physical body from the inside out. I will publish a separate in-depth post about my dietary program and its nutritional benefits in the near future, so be sure to check the blog regularly.
Spiritual Goal: My goal is to pray and meditate, for no specified length, daily. I seek to advance my integral healing to improve my ability to quiet my mind and be still, to hear and see my next steps in life, as guided by divinity not personal or blind ambition.
Psychological Goal: My goal is to regain the joy I had four years ago and then transcend that level to experience the most whole, peaceful, secure, and confident me possible. I know that the latter half, becoming the best me ever, is a life-long process and not a short-term goal.
Resolutions
Basically, as Elizabeth Gilbert suggested: Eat, pray, love. I will continue to eat organic whole foods as much as possible, along with nutrient-dense superfoods. I will engage in free-form and guided prayer and mediation, even if just for five minutes, daily. I will continue to journal and blog to track my progress along my journey. My overall goal is the restoration of a joyous and radiant mental, spiritual, and physical state; I will inundate myself daily with as much uplifting music, literature, new media, conversations, and visualization as possible to cultivate an environment of peace and mental prosperity.
Dacher, M.D., E. S (2006). Preparing the Ground. In Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
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