Mind, Heart, Body & Soul

MIND, HEART, BODY & SOUL

³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30 (NIV)

 - Some thoughts here on the four main areas of human health. I leave it to you to decide your own path to God, life-force, or raison de la vie

MIND:  There is greater awareness of mental health issues in the 21^st Century. It is surprising how long that it took given that psychological practice and psychiatry have been well established in the centuries preceding. A depressing hopelessness can set in with mental conditions, exacerbated by the pressures of modern life. Income, having a car, house, social status, can all contribute to a person’s sense of self-worth.  It is a problem of society as much as individuals, in that more caring plans to build a social strategy are required.

HEART:  Emotional health is related to the mind. Not just simply in physiological terms terms, but also in condition.  A broken heart, for instance, can have repercussions in depressed tenencies. The individual may feel worthless alone: incapable of carrying on. It is to be hoped that emotional health will be the next step in seriously understanding the human condition, with help given where it is needed, for instance in couselling.

BODY: Physical health takes dedication. Keeping in touch with GP, while aiming for a better lifestyle with control of substances like alcohol and tobacco.  Moderation of the former, while encouragement of e-cigarettes are the way.  Walking can be a joy, as can jogging, or any kind of sport. Perhaps moderation of tv and use of mobile phones as a fitness app may be answers here.

SOUL: Spiritual awareness and discipline can work wonders. The rituals of the monotheistic religions, and the meditative practices of the eastern belief system can help in this. Elsewhere, a person can look at the wonder of nature, or the complexity of the universe in order to realize how vast existence is.  It all comes down to what is right for the individual. Either a gathering each week, or solitude in meditation, prayer and mindfulness within their own room. 

Alan Ewing, October 2017