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New Year, New You? Not Without a New Perspective!
January 1, 2014
January has arrived already and it is the time of year when we find ourselves planning to make improvements in our lives especially in the areas around health and happiness. This is likely not the first time that you have made the decision to finally lose that extra weight and keep it off. Or perhaps you desire to lower your blood sugar once and for all. Maybe you would like to not get sick as often. Or perhaps you just want to get more enjoyment out of life. Whatever your goal is you will need a new outlook otherwise you will likely get the same results as last year. You know what I mean!
Experiencing the world differently and getting the results you are looking for largely depends on you adopting a healthier perspective! Perspective is the filter through which you interpret and experience the world. We all have one and it colors the world that we see and experience. We don't see things as they are, but as we perceive them. Your interpretation will determine your actions.
When it comes to matters of health, there are two prevailing perspectives, one being of health restoration, and the other being of disease treatment. While both have their place, each viewpoint interprets the world very differently. These differing interpretations lead to different actions which lead to different results.
Most of us have been trained to view the world from the disease treatment perspective. This means that disease is viewed as an entity that we are trying to eliminate, cut out, or force change on. The actions arising out of this perspective are designed to attempt to control body function and health from the outside through the use of drugs, surgery, herbs, therapies, etc. Health is viewed as merely the absence of disease. Body function is viewed as something that is not to be trusted and must be manipulated from the outside in order to make it do what you want.
The health restoration perspective is quite different. From this perspective, it is recognized that all living organisms are organized, and that health, being a natural expression of living things, comes from within. Health is viewed as the entity that results from you successfully adapting to the environment and maintaining harmony among all of your parts. A certain trust is developed in the body's ability to be well in a nurturing environment. There are many things that can be done to help this process so the individual is encouraged to regularly get proper amounts of sleep, adopt a program of dietary excellence, experience healthy relationships, develop a fulfilling career, enjoy sensible exercise, and handle stress in a constructive way. These activities improve the health expression of the individual. In this model, disease is viewed as the absence of health.
New actions taken in regards to this year's resolutions can be a reflection of your newly adopted perspective. This can help you sustain the actions necessary to succeed in experiencing a desired outcome. In regards to health goals or challenges the typical question asked is “How can I make this go away?” or “How can I force this to leave my life?” These questions set you down the old path of attempting to dominate and control symptoms. Instead seek to discover what aspect of your lifestyle is throwing you past the outer limits of your adaptional ability. A more productive question to ask would be “What is this condition revealing to me about my life situation?”
Do you see how a different perspective will lead you to ask different questions which will yield different answers which will lead to different actions? Just asking this question will shift you into a completely different awareness about your life situation. Answering it will bring you completely new results!
Dr. Steven A. Sciame