Living a wholesome life with good stable mental health is what we all dream of, isn’t it? Why is it that when you google wellness or well-being you are met with long-form complicated articles, fluffy images with soft pink colours or centres for massage and facial treatments? It’s no wonder we all seem so confused, is wellness a 45 minute back massage or is it much more than that? What are the correlations between wellness and well-being? How can such wellness meanings and categories be unexplained but taken as truth? And if seen as truth isn’t this a version of religion, something that helps us when needed and believed without proof? These ideas are not what we have in mind when we think about our own well-being, most of us likely think of some time to ourselves to re-set and re-calibrate. We all want to be well and live well, but what that means for each of us is open to interpretation.
What is Wellness?
If wellness is made of 8 simple pillars (which is the prevailing opinion - according to google) then why is it that so many people in society have no idea how to look after themselves or what the 8 dimensions include. I asked around and the prevailing opinion was that nobody has time to make it a priority. Which I interpreted as a lack of interest and understanding. Could it be that true wellness is an urban myth? If we have one life, one body and one mind, how do we fill it with all the good stuff for a wholesome balanced existence? If food is fuel, and knowledge is power then what would we have if we covered off all the multi-dimensions of wellness? Maybe wellness is peace, not inner or outer, not a cure for conflict in the world but just a calm togetherness with deep regard for nature and humankind. Although this sounds a little airy-fairy, re-read that sentence, doesn’t it sound kind of nice?
Here is some soft pink, the 8 pillars of Wellness:
Explore things that are outside of your comfort zone.
I recently, through sheer curiosity did a quick short course in Chakras, now much to my husband’s hilarity, a lot of similarities are shared with other diagrams surrounding balance, peace and inner wisdom, from a multitude of religious and historical scriptures. I am of the camp that if you don’t understand something you should learn enough about it that if you were in an argument you could have an actual conversation based on some level of study. It seems ridiculous to dismiss something that you have no understanding of. The idea of chakras came into focus after a lot of yoga during the lockdown and at a glance, I was intrigued by the Chakras connections to particular adrenal glands, it kind of made it a bit sciencey. If I have lost you completely by using the word Chakras, then this piece might not be for you. But if you are curious about the various coalesces of many of the religious and spiritual paths to wellness, including colours and visual representation then please read on.
The Three commonalities between Religion, Spirituality and Wellness.
I have found from various resources that all religious and spiritual paths of wellness, enlightenment or peace have commonality, and if you think about it they should. Each of them aims to make you a better more balanced version of yourself. The three most obvious:
- The colours will be associated with various areas of growth, learning or concentration. Many of the meaning associated with individual religions or spiritual paths will be similar to one and other
- There is always a journey of discovery that has many stages
- The journey of discovery always begins with self-exploration
This may in some way suggest that they are in evidence of one another, but we all know that the world doesn’t work like that. Sometimes it seems like the common messages are ignored, or used in contradiction of one another (that might be exactly the point.) Any correlations from a scientific point of view should at the very least be seen to substantiate shared intention and direction. There are far more than just these three similarities, but even the biggest sceptics in the world cannot deny the simple origins of wanting to understand the world and how this must bring them together. I’m not sure if you have ever read the Bible and then read any other religious text - the stories tend to follow the same narrative, over and over again. This is not a coincidence, depending on which group of followers you are speaking with, their story’s age, setting and characters will be different. I’d like to point out here that there are many ways to tell a story - an infinite number in fact, and that is one of the joys in life, but what if, instead of looking for the differences and the true original author, who is long dead, we looked at the similarities as they hold a far more significant message.
The inner journey, outward.
Most self-help books, coaches, psychologists and religious leaders will upon their introduction ask you to look inside yourself, for courage, strength, desire, hope or anything else that will lead you towards the goal or value that you are chasing. We all at times need help finding this path and no matter what your preference is, or where you go for your help. It’ll always start with talking and identifying what you want or need. And then there are steps which will be how you are going to get there through responsibility and understanding.
To demonstrate the similarities on a very surface level let us look at the commonalities of one of the Wellness pillars Emotional, with the Throat Chakra and the Buddhism principle of Right Speech. These all point to communication being one of the fundamental necessities in our understanding and sharing with others, if we can communicate well we can have strong and long-lasting relationships.
- The Emotional Pillar of Wellness explores how we can understand, navigate and regulate our emotions for improved understanding and connection with others. Like with various psychological schools of thought it starts with knowing ourselves. Once there is an understanding of self, it is easier to appropriately articulate feelings with others.
- The Throat Chakra also starts with the inner, and how we can share our truth with the world. Understanding our inner voice and using it honestly to find our authenticity and creativity. Opening one's Throat Chakra will bring balance, removing fear, judgement and the need for approval.
- The Right Speech in Buddhism (as part of the Eight Fold Path) is also about how one should communicate, avoiding negative or idle speech, lies or antagonistic language. Speech should be performed mindfully and with consideration. It should have a purpose, be helpful, truthful and spoken in a timely and considered manner.
So each of these very different frameworks share a basis of inner understanding and outer communication styles. With all journeys of improvement; religious, spiritual or self, there is an undeniable focus on how you talk to and interpret the way that you communicate with yourself. It seems like a good place to start. What is your inner voice saying to you? How can you train it to be nicer to you (Emotional pillar), how can you find the inner creativity through that voice (Throat Chakra) and use it to better connect with others through the right speech (The Right Speech.)
For more connections click here.
How to start your wellness journey?
Regardless of how you have found your wellness curiosity, let’s look at how it can be added as a focus in your everyday life. There is something inherently positive about there being 8 areas of distinction, it gives you 8 areas to progress through, you will likely not be naturally gifted in all 8 but the beauty in this is, nor will anyone else.
Let us start with three, if you are a social butterfly, (social) have a good job (occupational) that pays well and you are saving for your future (financial), then you might feel like you have 3 of these sorted, however, when you start to explore the other 5 you might find your 3 stable areas start to unravel. For example, you might have a great job and lots of money, but when you explore environmental or spiritual you’ll likely look at your career through different eyes. If this happens don’t be deterred, it’s normal. You do not have to live in a yurt, eat only fruit that has fallen from the tree while praying and learning and building a community etc. There are very few people in the world that have the privilege of having all areas resolved all at one time, and when and if you do, it might be fleeting. The idea of any growth is that it be continuous.
We can look at these eight pillars as a way to identify areas of growth, which happens to be the intellectual pillar. Think about it, if you haven’t learnt anything new since school or university it might be time you did a short course, took up a new hobby like Ty-Quando, or something that speaks to your creative side. A continued curiosity about education, knowledge and learning is essential to long term wellness. There is an abundance of scientific research that provides evidence that living in a growth mindset will help you live longer. I like to think it’s why we keep seeing older generations with iPhones playing mind games. It’s keeping their brain going. (Knowledge as fuel) We all want to remain able for as long as possible and if playing mind games keeps the faculties and neural pathways firing longer, why wouldn’t we all try?
You get the idea, have a look at these 8 areas to identify where you have room for growth, then start with the one that you think will solve your current problem - and if you are lucky enough not to have any problems right now, choose the pillar you would like an abundance of.
"Maybe wellness is peace, not inner or outer, not a cure for conflict in the world but just a calm togetherness with deep regard for nature and humankind."
If you are lonely or have a longing for more friends, or for love the Heart Chakra, Right intention and the Social might be where you focus your attention. My favourite explanation was from the Heart Chakra - To love is to be loved. You have to let people love you in order for you to truly love them. It’s a simple idea but it’s like a compliment, we give them but then feel uncomfortable taking them. Love is something that needs to be given and received. The Heart Chakra is linked to the Thymus gland, which is responsible for the immune system and more importantly (to this analogy) the ageing process. So the saying to be 'young at heart' or 'young in love' might all be interlinked. (I like to think they are) Love might be able to keep you young after all.
I’m not sure where you are on the scale of internal understanding, happiness, contentment or any other measure that you hold yourself to, but like with all things, the more we know about a topic and the more we see it from various points of view, the better we can be at living it, sharing it and enjoying it. To know about wellness and to know about yourself shouldn’t be a chore or something we do not have time for. Wellness might be a measure of how you feel you are living your life, a framework of discovery or maybe just something you focus your attention on for your growth journey. Whatever it is for you, know that your journey will include an understanding of yourself and even if you get no further than communicating clearer, you will find something.
Be on your own journey.
The similarities between the above might do nothing for you other than to highlight that each of these areas is no more or less than the other. I like to think the variety of pathways each indicating a very indistinguishable direction for all makes growth and understanding a little like fashion. Everyone can pick the style that suits the them of today, but they always have the option to change their style in the future.
It shouldn’t matter if someone finds themselves through religion, spirituality, psychology or self-help books, the fact that they are looking makes them more open to growth than you are, and maybe there is something in that. I wonder why we are all so quick to judge others on their chosen journey, some things will make sense for us in different ways. I'm a fairly openminded person but some religions do not make sense to me however, I still appreciate that there is a place for them in other peoples lives. I think it is important that we give each other the space to find our own guide, journey and understanding.
What if next time someone said something that you didn't understand you asked them for more information rather than dismissing their point of view as it’s from a place that you yourself do not believe in? (Religion, Spirituality, Buddhist theology or in your opinion some pseudoscience) All stories are about teaching, but we can only learn if we listen. What if we heard the lesson instead of being judgemental and dismissive about the origin?
Look for the messages that resonate, they might lead you to the framework that is best suited to you. And the beauty in all of these frameworks is that you can try them all, you have a lifetime to explore the world, your place in it and how you feel most comfortable interpreting it.
Be open.
Quick disclaimer, I went to a Church of England school as a child, my grandmother was raised a Jehovah witness and in her later life was what I would refer to as a good mild Christian. I have read many religious books which I found very useful, visited thousands of churches (for their historical and architectural significance) and after all this and a high school course in Religious studies, I have decided religion isn’t for me. This doesn’t mean that I do not understand and appreciate its place in others lives, I do and hope that in times of need should people need religion they find it. I am deeply curious about the concurrent messages and cross over. I wonder if anyone else has noticed not the things that separate but the things that come together in these stories.
