September 4, 2012

"O" Zone - September

Finding Health by Finding Higher Purpose

“Health.” 

Say it to yourself out loud. 

What do you think of when you say that word? 

Does it infer boring waits to see a doctor, or even a series of doctors? Does it bring images of hospital beds, drug prescriptions, and painful recovery from surgery?

Or do you look at it more holistically than that?

Does it signify bland-tasting foods that are like chewing a mouthful of sawdust? Does it bring to your mind the stink of a gym, or boring hours of working out that leave you sore and achy? 

Or do you imagine peak energy levels, a clear mind, and vigor to engage whatever task presents itself? Do you see your life’s journey clearly, from beginning to end? Can you clearly identify your purpose in less than five words? Does your purpose excite you? Does it get you to bed early, so you can get up early the next day to pursue your purpose again? How much of your day do you spend on the realization of your purpose? Is it your top priority? 



Life-Style: Purpose verses Desire
I have found that people can only be healthy—truly healthy—if they understand their purpose in life. 
What is yours? Can you come up with a purpose statement, and then compress it to powerfully express your purpose in less than five words? When you can do that, you will have the beginning of a healthy walk in life. 
The identification of your purpose must be created from deep soul-stirring questions like: What am I? Who am I? How did I come into being? Why am I? Why am I here? What is my highest potential? If I fulfill my highest possible potential, what will I become? How do I fulfill that potential? Who am I to God? Who is God? Who is God to me? How can I come to know these things?

I took a class on nutrition a short while ago. The teacher of the class has been a life-long teacher of nutrition, a vegetarian and a macrobiotic practitioner. He stated that he had learned the hard way that until you help a person change their desires in life, you cannot help them change their nutritional habits. The same would be true of exercise, the willingness to take herbs, engaging in an adventurous spiritual journey, and stretching their mindset to include health-promoting practices like regular chiropractic and acupuncture care. 

So, what is your purpose in life? Are you willing to seek it out? Are you willing to ask difficult questions and challenge your current life view, to stretch yourself into something that is even better? 


“We Shall See”
One day in late summer, an old farmer was working in his field with his old, sick horse. The farmer felt compassion for the horse, and desired to lift its burden. So he let his horse loose so it could go to the mountains and live out the rest of its life.
Soon after, neighbors from the nearby village visited, offering their condolences and saying, "What a shame. Now your only horse is gone. How unfortunate you are! You must be very sad. How will you live, work the land, and prosper?" The farmer replied: "We shall see."

Just two days later, the old horse came back, rejuvenated from meandering in the mountainsides while eating the wild grasses. And following him into the corral were twelve new, young, healthy, wild horses.
Word got out in the village of the old farmer's good fortune and it wasn't long before people stopped by to congratulate the farmer on his good luck. "How fortunate you are!" they exclaimed. “You must be very happy!" Again, the farmer softly said, "We shall see."

At daybreak on the next morning, the farmer's only son set off to attempt to train the wild horses, but the farmer's son was thrown to the ground and his leg was broken. One by one, the villagers came to bemoan the farmer's latest misfortune. 
"Oh, what a tragedy! Your son won't be able to help you farm with a broken leg. You'll have to do all the work yourself. How will you survive? You must be very sad," they said. Calmly going about his usual business, the farmer answered, "We shall see."

Several days later, a war broke out. The Emperor's men arrived in the village, demanding that the young men come with them to be conscripted into the Emperor's army. As it happened, the farmer's son was deemed unfit because of his broken leg. 
"What very good fortune you have!" the villagers exclaimed as their own young sons were marched away. "You must be very happy."
"We shall see," replied the old farmer as he headed off alone to work his field.

As time went on, the broken leg healed, but the son was left with a slight limp. Again the neighbors came to pay their condolences. "Oh what bad luck. Too bad for you!" But the old farmer simply replied, “We shall see."

As it turned out, the other young boys from the village died in the war and the old farmer and his son were the only able-bodied men capable of working the village lands. The old farmer became wealthy, and was very generous to the villagers. They said: "Oh how fortunate we are, you must be very happy." To which the old farmer replied, "We shall see!" 
  

Coming to Health Via a Higher Life View
To improve your health beyond your current level, you need to take your view of life and its incredible possibilities to a new—a radically new—place.  Are you willing?  Do you dare to ask the kind of questions that can spawn that kind of change in you? 
Try some simple questions like:
·      How do I show true love?
·      How can I show more love?
·      Do I express love plainly and frequently to my family and friends?
·      What are my strengths?
·      What are my weaknesses?       






         You have the ability to improve your well-beingYou shall see.


         
         Blessings,


Dr. O.