Final Project

In his book Integral Health, Elliot S. Dacher, M.D. states that the human flourishing he has witnessed has come from self-cultivation instead of some extrinsic source of healing (Dacher, 2006).  An individual’s healing begins the choice to heal.  It is important for each health and wellness professional to make the choice for an integral path to health.  On this path they will develop psychologically, spiritually and physically.  A health and wellness professional that has embarked on this journey will be able to lead from example.  There is no need to conquer each domain but when you make the choice to acknowledge each area you will no doubt experience successes on your journey.  Those successes will show in your work; they will give clients hope that they can actually achieve what is being set in front of them. 

For myself, I have spent the past few years developing psychologically and would like to focus on the spiritual and physical domains.  I would not say that I have completed my psychological journey but for some time now I have felt like I have reached a limit where in order to go any further in this domain I must focus on my spiritual side.  I also feel like there are ways that I can work on my physical being that will help compliment my spiritual and psychological growth.  

In order to create a plan of what areas a person needs to improve they must first figure out what their starting points are.  After getting an accurate gauge of where they stand it is easier to see what areas must be improved upon.  In Dacher’s concept of integral health there are six principles of integral assessment: the goal of integral health is to decrease unnecessary suffering and as a result promote human flourishing, integral health recognizes there is a difference between short and long term relief, integral health recognizes a difference between immediate pleasure and long term flourishing, psycho-spiritual development is an important piece in achieving human flourishing, in order to assess the process of integral health one must rely on deep listening and guidance, and integral assessment looks at all areas of life that are relevant to our current lives (Dacher, 2006).  Keeping these six principles in mind a person will want to look at the psychological, biological, interpersonal and worldly connections in their lives.  There are further subcategories to look at under each of those categories and assess.  These subcategories are listed in the chart below.

I’ve assessed myself in each of these categories so that I am able to create a plan of what areas of change make the most to address at this point in my life.  Using the chart below I can see that my strengths and subjects that lie in the spiritual realm include my emotional growth, personal growth and work; my greatest weaknesses that sit in the mind range are fitness and social activism; and the areas that lie within the body realm are conative, cognitive, self-regulation, nutrition, family, community, and generativity. 

The levels of development: 1= Body, 2 = Mind, 3 = Spirit

            After assessing my starting point, it’s time to set some goals.  I shall set one goal to improve upon my physical health, one goal to improve my psychological health and one goal to improve upon my spiritual health.

Physical Health: Become more physically active.  Some possibilities include: participate in a yoga class and/or start walking 3-4 days a week for at least 30 minutes.

Psychological Health: One area that lies within the mental realm that I’d like to improve is social activism.  I’d like to find at least one social cause that I can become involved in.  An example could be donating money or supplies to a friend of mine whom I know that is actively involved in helping a community in Africa.

Spiritual Health: Consistently meditate daily and when possible visit a Shambhala meditation center. 

Once we set a goal to achieve we must plan the route that we will take in order to achieve those goals.  When starting at something new the best way to improve upon a skill is to practice it.  Therefore in order to achieve our goals we must practice.  There are certain principles that must apply to our practices in order for them to be effective in helping us to obtain integral health.  Dacher, has listed eight principles of integral practice they are as follows.  All integral practices must have as their final aim the evolution of our knowledge, capacity, and abilities beyond what is no considered normal – Our goal must be to evolve.  What is a person’s normal state when they start their journey will be completely different and expanded upon as they continue their journey.  All integral practices must be supported by inner development – In order to continue along the path of integral practices one must expand their consciousness and reach new levels on the inside.  All integral practices must be infused with an aspiration for loving-kindness – Every step must be taken with loving-kindness towards yourself, friends and family, enemies and everyone and everything in between.  All integral practices must be infused with virtue – Our actions must match the words we speak and read, even in the most difficult of moments.  All integral practices must be tailored to the individual’s needs – Everyone is unique and therefore everyone will take a different path and need different things.  Different areas in everyone’s lives need to be addressed at different times.  There is no generic solution to any one problem.  Integral practice requires more than one helper or mentor – The integral practice is all encompassing and it would be impossible to have a mentor be a master of all areas of development.  Integral practice requires we take responsibility for our own development – No one can take the path to integral health without choosing it and actively participating in each step.  Integral practice emphasizes activities that are broad-based, simultaneously touching multiple aspects of our life – Integral practices focus on the whole picture therefore activities should focus on the whole instead of separating pieces of ourselves. 

I think the activities that I have listed in the previous paragraph that outlines my goals are good practices to follow that will help me to obtain integral health.  Some of these practices such as yoga fall under the category of contemplative practices which will help me physically, mentally and spiritually all at the same time.  I’ve listed both yoga and walking to help me with my physical practice; I will add finding a local organization to volunteer at to becoming involved in a global charity cause for my psychological practice; and creating a daily meditation habit and visiting a meditation center or hopefully a retreat for my spiritual practice.  Again, some of these practices will help with multiple domains at once.  

            I believe that once you start to see the rewards of your practice it is those natural consequences that keep us motivated to continue along the path.  The early and important step of creating an awareness of our thoughts and actions, that witnessing mind will help us to keep ourselves on the right path.  On the other hand it is important to remember that we are human and it may be tempting to fall into old traps and habits.  The first six months may be the most difficult because it is then that we are cultivating these new habits.  I think creating monthly check ins will be a good idea.  Keeping a daily journal that you take time review each month will help me to step back and see what is actually going on.  After six months if the journaling is successful, I will continue to do it.  Another way would be to find a guide who can help me along my journey and be an outside source that is watching me along my journey.  My final way to assess where I’m at and what I’ve accomplished is to check the goals that I’ve set in this paper every 3-6 months.  If I’m having trouble achieving a goal I will look at what is happening within my practice and adjust as necessary.  Knowing that this is a life long journey is an important thing to know, change does not come easy but with patience, practice and loving-kindness anything is possible! 

 

References

Dacher, E. M.D. Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications Inc. Laguna Beach, CA