A New Age of Health. Chapter One. Part One

A New Age of Health

Chapter One. Part One. 

​​“He who has health has hope. He who has hope has everything.”
Arabian proverb

Something is changing. I can hear it in the subtleties of conversation. I can see it in the books lining the store shelves. I can sense it when I close my eyes and feel the energy in a crowded room. One by one, people are realizing there is a power inside them, much greater than they have been taught to believe. You have come to realize that as well or you wouldn’t have started reading this book. You know there has to be a better way of approaching your health – and your life. I offer you VividLiving.
I suppose you might be wondering, “What is VividLiving?” VividLiving is mindful, authentic self-expression. It’s a life approach that allows you to embrace what’s most important to you and to consciously create the wellness you desire. 

To live Vividly is to live with awareness; being mindful of the world around you and the effects your choices have on your health and well-being.
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To live Vividly is to move through life with gratitude; taking time to enjoy and savour the wonderful gifts around and within you.

To live Vividly is to take advantage of all the great opportunities that await you; to make the most of every day.

To live Vividly is to have passion; to believe in something with conviction and enthusiasm. VividLiving is also about responding to your passions with awareness and balance.

To live Vividly is to tune in to your truly glorious feelings, along with signals asking you to pay attention when something is ‘not right’.

To live Vividly is to live fully in the present moment yet knowing that in this moment your intentions can move you towards an increasingly vibrant and healthy way of being.

In this way, VividLiving has much to offer, as health and well-being is the foundation upon which everything in life is based. The best-made plans and the greatest intentions can falter when illness diminishes spirit and potential. Take a moment to consider what’s most important to you. What’s so essential that, if lost, it would fundamentally change your life? How high up on your list is health? How important is it to have a healthy body, mind, and spirit? Now weigh your answers against how much time you spend each day protecting, healing, and enhancing your health and well-being. Are they a match? For some reason, it seems easier for people to admit their health is important than to behave as though it is. I believe this is because the definition of health, and the steps to improve it, have become too narrowly focused. This narrow view doesn’t allow most people to approach their health in a way that feels right for them. A personal paradigm shift will occur when people allow themselves to embrace their own personal and authentic definitions of health and well-being. 

Photo Credit: Nathalie Désirée Mottet

​What Is Health?

Everyone seems to have a unique response when asked to define health and well-being. For some, health is to be less sick; for others, it is to be thinner, or fatter, or have more energy, or be physically fit, or feel less stressed, or be happier… 


​If I were to ask you what optimal health and wellness means to you, what would you tell me?

Now consider, how closely your current life reflects your definition of optimal health.

For some of you, the lifestyle you’ve embraced supports ideal health. For others, there is a wide gap between where you are today and where you want to be. If this is your truth, know it’s the contrast between what you want and what you have right now that creates a desire for change. It’s this desire that provides the launching points for all positive transformation.

To understand health and well-being, it’s essential to look outside of the physically-focused view presented so often today. Health is not simply the absence of a serious illness, and cannot be limited to a body part or a condition. Instead, it’s holistic, encompassing the body, emotions, intellect, and spirit. It’s the comfortable synergy of these parts that results in an ideally-healthy person. The very word ‘disease’ would imply this. The word dis-ease suggests there is a lack of ease in the person afflicted. That somewhere there is resistance or imbalance, preventing good health or happy life. Health, on the other hand, would indicate a level of ease in mind, body, and spirit. That life is flowing freely and without resistance, with all aspects working together smoothly.

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Health is the comfortable synergy of the body, emotions, intellect, and spirit.
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Photo Credit: Sharon Tomczyk

Your Authentic Self

In my hand I could hold one hundred different seeds. Each of these seeds, although similar on the outside, has the potential within to become a unique and wondrous thing. One may have the potential to be a sunflower, while another could grow to be a giant cedar tree. The seeds could become a strawberry plant, a lilac bush, or a dandelion, but they all start as a tiny seed. If the seed is planted in the right environment it will grow to be a magnificent and healthy version of its potential. As it’s growing, it can be damaged or crushed, it could be exposed to disease, or its environment no longer able to support its ability to grow. All of this will affect the physical structure of the plant yet, it can never alter the potential within the seed. While it’s possible to impact health, nothing can turn a tiny flower into a tree or a tree into a blade of grass.

​As a newborn, you came forth with the same potential as those seeds. Although, on the outside, you appeared similar to other babies, within you was unseen and miraculous potential. You were born with traits and talents, distinct from what you have experienced or learned. They endure, regardless of your environment or the opinions of those around you. These authentic traits are not things you do or say - although they can be expressed that way -  but are more deeply understood to be that which you are. A tree does not have to do anything to be a tree, it just is. Likewise, as a person recognizes and becomes comfortable with their authentic traits, life becomes easier, as uncertainty is replaced with peaceful knowing. The challenge for most people is to distinguish between the authentic them and what they have been influenced to be. To help you differentiate between the two, I invite you to reflect upon the following descriptions of the authentic self, and ask yourself which parts of you fit with the portrayal.

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The authentic self is aware of its environment and its response to it. 

Its motivation for growth comes from within and not from outside pressure. The authentic self loves growing toward and realizing its potential.

The authentic self is completely comfortable with itself. It does not need validation nor does it need to lessen the worth of others to know it’s important.

The authentic self does not limit itself by beliefs, doctrine, or the physical world, for its essence is not comprised of the physical.

The authentic self is not afraid because there’s nothing that can harm it. It cannot be destroyed, only ignored. It will wait an entire lifetime to be acknowledged, never going away, immediately there the moment it is allowed to be.

The authentic self is in constant communication with the body and mind, signalling whether ones actions or thoughts are in alignment with, or contrary to it. Actions that contradict the authentic self feel uncomfortable in the body or mind. Alignment brings a sense of ease and inner joy. ​
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​When you are behaving authentically you feel as though your heart is smiling.

Unlike a seed, that relies mostly on chance, as it’s the earth, weather, and sometimes a helping hand (or wing) providing it with the environment it needs to grow, humans have the ability to create environments that nurture their own authentic potential. To a great extent, individuals can control the body in which the authentic self resides. The physical state can either support or limit authentic expression; therefore your inner self will always lead you towards health. 

Likewise, thoughts can enhance or interfere with authentic potential. Since the mind is the avenue through which the authentic self expresses itself to the outside world, the mind can also build and sustain the biggest barriers. Take time to quiet mental chatter, listen deeply and allow yourself to hear your authentic voice.
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“You have a spark of divinity within yourself. Step out from the crowd and
​discover how much power you really have.”
Paramahansa Yogananda

​Continued in Chapter One. Part Two