Introduction, the Personal Journey
Hi, I’m Dan, 25 years ago, I was about 60 pounds overweight, mentally out of focus or focused on the wrong things, angry, self-absorbed, emotionally disconnected and spiritually bankrupt. Today, I’m right in my weight class for height, I have clarity of thought, a good energy, a positive outlook and I am spiritually connected.
My path led me to recognize I am made up of mind, body and spirit and I need to nurture each component. In my early years, I ignored this point, and it discouraged a life of purpose and being. Each element has its own unique feature, combined they unite to define our whole selves. Under this premise I have found the most fulfilling life being the balance of these 3-elements, while excluding an overindulgence or neglect of one item over another.
Difficult Days Define Us
This has been a journey. I’ve been on this path for over 25 years. My early years were more a path of selfishness, misdirection, I’d even add narcissistic and just unhealthy living. My walk has kinda’ been one of recovery. I’ve been part of 12-step programs, counseling and much inner personal development work. Physically, I was 65 lbs. overweight at one point, mentally selfish and out of focus and definitely spiritually corrupt.
There are times I wish I didn’t have to go through the hardships I’d experienced. I wish I hadn’t hurt people along the way. However, it’s the story that defines me and makes me who I am today. I can truly say that I am glad to be where I am now and grateful that I am still alive to even be writing here in this moment. As part of my story, I also recognize places, experiences and behaviors I never want to return to.
There are times in my life I’ve acted to neglect or overindulge. For instance, there was a period I’d spent primarily focused on physical attributes. Much of that was ego driven and self-focused. While in this place my mindfulness and spiritual focus dwindled. Certainly, my physical strength, physique and endurance peaked. But, I was feeling imbalanced. My mental and spiritual resources were lax, and it left me feeling disconnected, unfulfilled, defensive and even inadequate.
I did not have mindful clarity. I was disconnected from people and certainly disconnected from God. I believe my ability to recognize my disconnect was a spiritual nudge to push me back on the path of life. I started to dig into the depths of my thoughts, my physical health and my spiritual needs. That spiritual nudge was a voice of consciousness that echoed in the deeper caverns of my mind.
A Path Toward a Better Life
I came to a point in life, where I just didn’t like the skin I was in. I realized something was wrong, but I wasn’t sure just what it was. My actions didn’t align with my principles, physically, mentally and spiritually. I lacked serenity. I was just feeling very imbalanced.
I recognized it was my mind that was hijacked. I needed to start here. I got into individual counseling so I could dig deeper to understand why I was so mis-aligned. I sat in 12-Step programs, as well to engage in community and shared experiences.
As I journeyed on, I became more mindful of the moments presented to me. I started to connect occurrences not just as some event or coincidence but as something more meaningful. I started to conclude coincidences don’t just happen; they happen with meaning. And, if I indulged that possibility, eventually, the meaning comes to light. But I needed to be mindful. Both good and bad events or occurrences have a lesson and meaning. Oh, and the bad events are not some punishment. It’s more about overall development. This in turn led me to search out my walk of faith and why we are even here or came to be here.
In parallel, my development included spiritual searching and growth. I need to live in truth. I wanted to live with purpose, in peace, in serenity and have clarity of mind. As an engineer, the logic of math, science and physics provide a good foundation for the way things are. I need to apply the same in any spiritual direction. Further, I won’t be held in contract by some dogmatic formulation, that, to be virtuous is to sustain a faith based on words or people defining truth because they claim it is truth. I need to be shown it is true through both text relating to the human experience and to confirm it physically. I also want my spiritual being to align with what is good. Not because I believe I’m all good but because I need something that will align me with what is good. Recognizing that if I pursue what is good or work to do the next right thing, that there is a peace that settles within me. I don’t need to work to cover up something bad and if something bad occurs due to my actions, I can just own it.
I dug into religions and faiths and searched for truth. Many faiths focus on inner work, inner peace, self-gratification, self-love, self …….. self …….. and more self. Not really reaching to help others or experience others. It’s “others” that make up the humankind experience and it’s all around us.
Christianity aligned with my principles. It focuses on humility, removing self-ego, yielding goodness for others, giving to others, selflessness. All this occurs, not through some self-empowerment, it occurs by submission to Jesus Christ. And it seems to work. I needed to submit to a higher authority. And the authority in Christ comes with love, not anger, revenge or bitterness. It also requires inner work to remove ego and selfishness. I gotta admit, it ain’t easy to look inward to see the bad parts and work to change them, to become humble, selfless and actually forgive people that have harmed you. It also provides hope that there is good out there, especially given these days around us. There is so much anger, I now choose to not engage in it. Truthfully, who really cares about my unsolicited opinion, anyway. Anger thrown against anger generates twice as much anger. Taking these steps has given me a place of serenity, a reason for being, a clearer vision of the world and why things are as they are and also, provided clarity of thought. This route provides me peace, purpose, serenity, truth and clarity of mind.
To be clear, this is my personal journey, and it is not a criticism of other faiths or practices. This is what I found fit for me.
For physical wellness, I continued to work out regularly. I lost some weight by adding extra run time and exercise. I didn’t really come to knock off the pounds until I looked at my diet. Not so much my intake quantity but what I was intaking. I never wanted to count calories, so I took to investigating good intake over bad intake. Kick up the protein, knock down the carbs, kick out the processed foods. This was my greatest benefit. By adding mindfulness and walk in faith, I began to experience a life of balance, fulfillment and intention.
Putting it to Practice
From a mindful sense, I stay connected with the world around me. I don’t overindulge in media feeds or propaganda. I think more about the impact of my actions on people and things around me. I want to understand more about the walk of other people and how they came to where they are in thought, in life and in health. I appreciate people and enjoy their stories. Along with appreciating people, I also engage more with the scents, tastes, sounds and atmosphere I’m exposed to.
My approach to my physical balance is to engage in multi-levels of exercise or at least stay in motion every day. Along with that I pursue a healthy diet, high in protein, hydration, eliminating processed foods, low in carbohydrate intake, very much a holistic approach to what I intake and put upon my body. I read labels on any new product I think I might want to consume. As a rule, multi-syllabic add-ons are probably not a good choice. I tend to stay away from multi-chemical concoctions for use inside or outside my body.
Spiritually, I start every day in prayer. I think it’s the 4th thing I do as part of my morning. It follows, water discharge, brushing my teeth, making the bed, re-hydrating (with around 32 ounces of water), then getting into my prayer chair. This connection with God is vital for me. It offers humility, gratitude, exchange of love, peace, release of anxieties, acceptance of circumstances, prayerful help for others, recognition that I’m not in control and don’t need to be. I pray for friends and foes. I also extend prayer throughout the day and end my day with it. My prayer life is one part of my walk, I also engage in reading, audios, attend church service and participate in service ministries.
Each of these items of mind, body and spirit define me. I know when I’ve come to neglect one or two of these because it leaves me angry, anxious and just off-center and feeling unbalanced.
Why Mind, Body and Spirit
I’m not sure what drove me to focus the blend of mind, body, and spirit as a life course. It may have just been spiritually put on my heart, much like music has been. However it occurred, it has become a passion for me. I started to dig into the foods we eat. I challenged the medical industry and what they claimed was healthy. Through my own research, some items came to light that revealed some underlying, sometimes nefarious, deceptions that were propagandized as better health measures. I continue to research the best products and supplements that work to improve overall wellness.
I also recognized that I needed to get in touch with the world, people and all things around me. I began researching methods to remove anxieties and fears. I wanted to connect more with truth and awareness. I work to practice methods that drive out anxieties, establish clarity of thought and provide serenity. I like that word, serenity. It kind of encapsulates overall peace, mindful clarity and solidify a sense of belonging.
As I noted previously, I sought out a spiritual connection. It was knocking on my conscious; so, I began to research. My research has not stopped. For sure there are some things I feel very strongly about. I am open to hearing alternate perspectives and/or enhanced views and work to seek out truth.
Building with Friends and Community
I want to engage this passion I have of mind, body and spirit with others. I hope to grow in community and friendships. I’d like to share my knowledge and gain knowledge from you. I want to help where some may be stuck, for whatever reason; diet, illness, lack of clarity, relationship issues, spiritually lost, surrounded in negativity …… the list goes on. Or maybe you just want to gain insight on how to improve in certain areas of life. I’ve been there; I’m still experiencing setbacks and working on things I can do to improve my walk growing in serenity.
I’ve also come to realize a shared journey is where relations and friendships grow. I have friends I haven’t seen in years but still remain close when we re-unite because of the shared journeys we’ve experienced.
I hope you’d like to take this trip with me. I’ll do the research, chart the plan and present it. We can share the experience, or I can alter the plan to focus more on something you’d rather pursue. I just always like to start out with a plan; anything can change along the way.
I just want to add that I did lose that 60 pounds and now have a healthy muscle mass index. I’ve gotten off my blood pressure meds and stay steady with my readings. I’m done with antibiotics for twice a year sinus infections. Any cold that comes on, now rarely, I’m able to contain to maybe 1 day of discomfort or none at all. My weight stays steady, no big gains or significant losses. I am more connected with the world around me and how I impact that world. I’m much more energized to seek out goodness and help others, rather than letting them eat my dust as I drive off down Selfish Avenue. I appreciate the birds singing in the spring after a long winter. I’m as happy to see my dogs when I come home as they are to see me. I love the scent of cedar along a wilderness river and the can of tuna I had for dinner last night. I am engaged prayerfully and spiritually, and I appreciate that.
Let’s Journey Together
These are some of my mind, body and spirit living highlights. There’s more to each area, but I just wanted to give you some insight into my own personal journey. I feel a bit like I’m the experiment and the result. I’ve done the research, tried different formulations and settled on what fits with me. My process isn’t about a quick fix to stop some sort of life irritation. I’m all about, getting the fix on and then adapting a lifestyle of true maintenance to avoid future breakdowns.
I hope you’ll join me and take a journey into our mind, body and spirit. Together, we can work to maintain a balanced life and improve our overall wellness. God bless, ya !