When I ask the question, “what is health?”, what do you think of?
My guess is that you think of living relatively free of debilitating illnesses, injuries, etc. That is certainly one aspect of health. But I want my posts and site to be about much more than that.
Real health begins with spiritual health. There is no health without spiritual health, and this is the one form of health under the most attack today. No surprise.
And I believe spiritual health starts with prayer or meditation. When I use those words, they too likely conjure up certain meanings in your mind, and that’s understandable. I simply mean conscious contact with your Creator—nothing more and nothing less.
And if you don’t believe in a Creator, I wouldn’t let that get you hung up. I’m referring to being still enough to recognize what is going on inside of you.
I plan to explore this in more detail in the near future.
Spiritual health leads to cultural health, which deals with the beliefs we hold about our world, and how we live day to day.
I’m personally alarmed, for instance, that we have increasing numbers of Americans and people worldwide who think smoking “weed” is a good and “healthy” thing. When I was growing up, we didn’t harbor such illusions, even if many people indulged. We knew it was a drug, and calling it some type of appropriate coping mechanism or even worse—a spiritual practice—was not the norm.
Smoking pot, or using other mind-altering drugs (including getting drunk) dulls our connection to our Creator. Of course, many have claimed that it actually expands the mind. And true, it can open a door, but it is a dark door, and one sober people should want no part of.
There are many other lifestyle “choices” that can harm an individual, that are chosen under the guise of “freedom.” This is an illusion, as “freedom” is soon found to be just another form of slavery.
I’m also alarmed at the significant rise of blame in people’s lives, where people of different races (especially white) or people from different religions (especially Jews) are deemed to be the cause of their personal failures.
This is another example of spiritual failure. No outside force can make a person fail.
The rise of an all-encompassing entertainment culture is yet one more example of spiritual failure. When we lose the connection to our Creator, or if you will, that connection to seeing our internal thoughts and motivations, we are left wide open to accept… just about anything.
What We’ve Driven Out
In the modern world, our spiritual sickness has caused us to add in many thoughts, feelings, and coping mechanisms, and what we’ve added in has filled up our lives to the point that more important things have been driven out.
Like what?
Like real relationships with real people, for instance.
Like real work, done “by the sweat of our brow.” Real work is too hard, and therefore we’ve looked to replace it with something else. Ever hear of The 4-Hour Workweek? I’m not picking on Timothy Ferris, and I loved his book too, but, really, why did we buy it? To become more efficient? Yes, to some degree, but for the most part, to free ourselves from the perceived pain of work.
As adults, we don’t know how to even play normally anymore. Kids—left alone from the influence of adults—don’t obsess over what they want to be when they grow up. And there’s no division of labor. They just play—all of them! That’s how they “be.”
We’ve crowded out real fitness, and replaced it with reliance on technology. More technology is needed to replace our diminishing common sense, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
Real food has been replaced with fake food filled with sugar and other enhancements to provide the anesthesia we need to block ourselves from the inner guidance that we resist, and which therefore feels painful.
And all and all, a whole real life ends up being replaced by a false one. One that in the end, doesn’t feel right. And we can end up scratching our heads and wondering how we got here.
So this is my main interest—unravelling false health to reveal the real. I’ve spent much of my life in this pursuit, and have been able to find much of what I’m writing about.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way, and I relate 100% to others who have fallen down in the pursuit of real health.
I know what real health is now. And I’m implementing it more and more, thank God. I help others do the same.
My Greek Yoga™ workout video represents a big move back to real fitness. And my 12-Week Transformation Program helps clients restore true health through restored order and habits. I also offer 6 and single sessions. Just go to the above link for details.
Real health is about more than just a “clean” meal and some calisthenics. It’s a way of life. And the rewards are very much worth the journey. I hope that you find this path, or stay on it if you have been blessed enough to have found it.
I welcome your comments.
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com, a website that believes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Its focus is Health, Success, and Freedom—yeah, in that order. Patrick is the author of GREEK PHYSIQUE: The Simple, Satisfying Way to Sculpt Your Body—Even if You’re Old, Weak, or Broken Down; and is also the creator of Greek Yoga™ and the Greek Yoga for Beginners video. To reach Patrick, email him at [email protected].