I have described a process of using the experience of acceptance, forgiveness, and gratitude as a key to finding peace. This is wellness in a nutshell. Everything that we are can be attributed to our attitude and intention as they are grounded in this experience of peace. This is very much a holistic process and is very much an inside job for the individual. At the same time it is all about how the world aligns with the principles of the holistic paradigm.

It is very obvious that our world has a long way to go before it is aligned with holism. This is due to the nature of the world being a composite of the individuals that inhabit it. As the individuals progress toward this alignment as a larger and larger proportion of the world population, the more the entire world will become aligned with peace and wellness.

One challenge that I see we are faced with is in how we currently view “wellness”. I find it unfortunate that wellness has become a “product” that is sold on the healthcare market. This is not consistent with the “wellness” that I speak of in the above statements. Wellness is not about which diet is best, or which supplements are best, or which alternative health modality is best, or which spiritual practice is best.

Wellness is about transformation to become aligned with the holistic paradigm.

I will attempt to make this statement as clear as I possibly can using words, which is always a challenge. I have written extensively on holistic wellness in my blog and will not reiterate the content in this piece. What I want to clarify is that the “holistic” model is not just a label that is applied to something. Holistic is purely a matter of understanding and incorporating the notion that every facet of existence is intimately interconnected and interdependent. Every choice that I make has an impact on the entire universe in one way or another through this interconnectedness. This is the true nature of holistic existence.

When I live life within this framework, I become very aware of my impact on everything. I am responsible for the reality that I experience personally, and also the reality that every other being is experiencing. This awareness leads to a reckoning. If I am responsible for the nature of reality through this interconnectedness, how can I choose to live with intention for the most positive outcome? Why would the intention to have a positive outcome be important to me? If the universal reality is composed of the contribution of all the composite parts, why should I want my contribution to promote peace and wellness?

Every positive change that we have experienced in our world has generally resulted from the composite action of a large enough group of people. And the same can be said for every not so positive change. The universal change is produced by the composite, and the composite is produced through the contribution of each individual member. As a member of any composite, I have the ability to choose the change I would like to promote. This is the main goal of wellness promotion. It is the promotion of positive transformation of the world that we live in. This is my choice. What is yours?

I have noticed that the term “wellness” continues to be associated with so many externally validated states. When wellness is defined by the presence or absence of disease it is no longer consistent with the holistic paradigm. When wellness is something that is measured or obtained through changes in behavior, it ceases to be an experience and becomes a “product”. Though I do think that having goals for wellness makes sense in a symbolic or metaphoric way, it is really necessary to “realize” wellness as an experience in every waking moment.

Much of the mindfulness practice movement in the West can be utilized to promote wellness, as long as the practice is not incongruent with the underlying nature of the meditation experience. When mindfulness becomes a clinical tool for treating any number of maladies, it ceases to be “mindfulness” as it was born to the world and becomes something that resembles the original. The resemblance ends when the experience is detached from the spiritual nature of our humanity.

Not that this clinical tool is without merit, it is just important to be aware of the difference between mindfulness as it exists in its full context. This is also a true statement when we consider the term “wellness”. As long as we are aware of the full context, within the holistic paradigm, where wellness is appropriately framed, we can develop a full wellness promotion experience in our daily living. Whenever mindfulness or wellness is removed from the full context that is appropriate to their natural experience, we end up with something artificial and less useful.

I speak of this contrast between the holistic and spiritual aspects of both wellness and mindfulness from a personal frame of reference. This is my opinion based on my years of practice. It is a commentary on how I believe many of the ways that both mindfulness and wellness have been integrated into the Western approach to living. Whenever any practice that would be beneficial to the enhancement of our daily experience is packaged and sold, we end up with a product that has lost much of the value that existed in its original state.

I suggest that anyone with a desire to experience either mindfulness or wellness, or any other healing tradition that has been inserted into our current healthcare delivery system, you would do well to spend time studying the history and theory that is the foundation of the practice. Not that it is useless to simply go out and seek treatment from a practitioner, like an acupuncturist for example. Paying someone for their years of study and ability to provide treatment is part of the exchange of energy between practitioner and patient or client.

I think it is much more beneficial to have some knowledge of the system of thought that the treatment is founded on. You can join the practitioner in the healing process if you have this knowledge. You can also realize that the healing is something that happens within you. It does not come from the outside in the way that we usually think. Though the treatment is helping with balancing our energy system, it is our inner state that is being transformed through this balancing. This is where the power of placebo as a treatment effect is realized. Our conscious or unconscious intention plays a large role in our healing process.

As we realize how much our inner awareness and consciousness plays a role in the healing process, we can grow the acceptance of our wellness perspective. What I mean to say here is that we experience wellness as a state of being in the present moment, regardless of our current health status. If I have a pulled muscle in my back I have not ceased to be “well”, I simply have a muscle that I need to give special attention to and allow the healing to happen. Whenever we consider ourselves “unwell” as a result of any “undesirable” condition, we have lost the concept of wellness altogether. Wellness is not a destination. We do not get to wellness from a place of un-wellness. We simply need to realize wellness is a state of being where we appreciate the connection we have with the universe and everything that flows from this experience is another step along the journey. Wellness is the journey.