A Total Being...is an individual who has achieved health in its entirety—spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.
For me, being myself is more than just imitating others or falling prey to peer pressure. To be yourself, start by understanding the higher aspects of who we are and take action to live in accordance with the best within ourselves.
Let’s start by examining what your ‘self’ encompasses. Most often people look at the ‘self’ as the personality, which includes the body, vitality, emotions and the concrete mind. Next, there is the self as a soul—the higher mind, the soul’s love plus wisdom is called buddhi, and the will of the soul or atma. Beyond this is the third aspect, the divine spirit or the God within called monad in Sanskrit.
When people think of being true to themselves, they often concentrate on the body, which is the grossest aspect of spirit. The spirit is the highest consciousness of the body. Since we are alive in the physical realm, the physical part of our self is important. Being physically healthy and vibrant is essential to being yourself. This is why I declare good health to be a virtue.
Not victims
There are things in life that you can’t change, like the incurability of some physical ailments. But you do not have to become a victim. People can be coached on how not to convert pain into suffering. They can be equipped with simple tools to increase their willpower and vitality to fight back. It helps deal with stress; tolerate pain, fatigue, fear, frustrations, guilt and grief and the ability to improve quality of life. Diabetes, for instance, can be cured with ESEM.
When describing ESEM’s [ESOCEN’s School of Energy Medicine] unique approach to diabetes, Sunita Kripalani, a former executive with an international university programme says, “Despite being a healer and trainer [in another system] for nine years, I was unable to shed feeling like a victim and guilt in many areas of my life. This manifested in a number of ailments—type-2 diabetes for seven years, hypertension for over 20 years, cholesterol issues for seven years, osteopoenia and breast cancer.”
She began receiving ESEM healing and coaching two years ago and goes on to say, “The exercises and breathing techniques are simple, yet powerful ways to de-stress, oxygenate and feel centred in less than 15 minutes. Whenever I am stressed out, upset or feeling low, I turn on The Inner RenewalTM, a guided meditation method that begins with the breathing out to the ocean technique. This is a favourite. It helps me release old thought patterns and emotional blocks and regenerate quickly.”
“There is no looking back for me now. My tests are normal. I live a life of gratitude and look forward to serving others and helping them transform the quality of their lives,” she concludes.
Multi-dimensional health
When it comes to health, people often associate it with the body and do not consider other dimensions of good health. For example, boosting vitality is essential to stress tolerance and maintaining psychological health. Stress is rampant in modern lifestyle. It weakens the immune system, drains physical, emotional and mental energy, lowering productivity and performance. The ability to earn a living is essential for many people and diseases like diabetes and hypertension can compromise a lifelong successful career. This can happen if one does not have the energy to handle the physical demands of the job, to stay mentally sharp and to maintain psychological health.
To maximise good health, identify a specific exercise regime that makes you comfortable, and check if more effective strategies are available.
People types
As people evolve, the question of ‘who am I’ and ‘who I am not’ becomes increasingly important. The profiling system I laid out in my book 8 Types of Leaders Every Leader Should Know, provides guideposts when it comes to health as well as leadership topics like Corporate Diagnostic Profiling. For example, type 2 people—the Mother Teresa types—tend to be sensitive and prefer gentle exercises like yoga stretches. The type 1 people like Genghis Khan on the other hand enjoy martial arts and dynamic movement. The business minded type 3 people enjoy opportunities to mix exercising, socialising and business so they gravitate towards activities like golf. The engineer type 5, such as Einstein, are often so engrossed in their thought processes, that they forget their bodies.
Spiritual health
Being true to yourself includes spiritual health as well. Especially as professionals, executives and leaders advance in their career; spiritual health encompasses and integrates all other aspects of health. In fact, at higher levels of inner training, people discover physical vitality, emotional and mental health that is subordinated to spiritual goals and purposes.
This aspect of life brings people in touch with their higher potential, and at certain levels, their divinity. It can be enhanced by practicing your religion or spiritual techniques properly—purifying your mind and emotions, improving your character and enhancing your 8 key virtues, one of which is good health. Doing service for a good cause helps human development and contributes to world evolution, which is a must if you want to accelerate your spiritual development. There are several steps to maintain your spiritual health as a way of life, including:
Continuous study of universal principles and spiritual subjects
Applied services corresponding to your spiritual development
Meditation and spiritual practices as a source of inner connection and practicing and applying your religion properly
Participation in group work for human and world development.
Navel breathing
A technique for enjoying your true nature is through navel breathing with the universal word Om. Recitation of the sacred words Om, Aum or Amen can increase the rate of vibration and align your consciousness to the soul or spirit. It should not be practiced more than three times a week for 15 minutes.
Do synchronised breathing. Inhale rapidly through your nose as you tilt your head up towards the ceiling. Then, exhale rapidly through your mouth as you bring your head down towards your chest. Do this 10 times. Exhale fully as you bring your head down. Now bring your head vertical and concentrate on the centre of your chest, mid-brow and top of the head. Do three sets.
Use the dhayan mudra: Form a circle whose centre is in front of the navel with your left hand on top of your right hand and the tips of the thumbs touching.
Verbally or mentally say Om prolonging the O like Ooooooooo for 80 per cent of the duration and mmm for 20 per cent of the duration.
Hold your breath for a few seconds between inhalations and exhalations.
For the first two minutes of reciting Om, simultaneously focus on the crown, ajna and heart chakras as you inhale slowly.
For the last three minutes of reciting the Om, be aware that you are the soul, or for more advanced practitioners, the Divine Self.
Store energy in the navel centres. This step develops your internal power and stamina rapidly.
The virtue of good health will increasingly become a priority as it becomes a revelation of inner development and balance. The good news for people struggling with diabetes and other life threatening diseases is that simple but powerful strategies can help you be true to yourself, to fight back and to improve the quality of your life right now.
This was first published in the April 2009 issue of Complete Wellbeing.