The 4 Aspects of Whole Integrated Embodied Wellness *From The Archives*
Thu 1/16/2025 12:35 PM
A couple years ago I started my first website adventure. Pathfinders Wellness Center was never fully launched and was more of a semi secret online blog that I began. This was my first post on that site. It discusses in detail the integrated nature we all experience to some degree.
While it is no longer my current vision to open a holistic wellness center, this vision from “Pathfinders” lives on here in Sacred Stream Sanctuary.
The Four Aspects of Achieving Whole Integrated Embodied Wellness.
Years ago I came across a book about Traditional Chinese Medicine. While I do not remember the title, the perspective it provided has stuck with me.
The idea is that our overall wellness and condition of our Self is a system that "trickles down".
Essentially this means that all of our possible ailments arise firstly from a disconnection from Spirit, God, Nature. This further leads to imbalances in our Soul or emotional life, which creates disorder in our mental state, which lastly manifests as physical dis-ease or illness in the body.
While I don't wholeheartedly agree that this is completely true, I do sense wisdom here.
Every aspect of our lives can and will interact with and affect all other areas.
The root of discomfort, disease, and disorder begin at some point, whether it be existential crisis, or a broken foot that never healed properly. These events, if left ignored, can be like throwing a stone into a machine with delicately balanced gears. If it hinders one of the gears movement, they will all be affected.
While this analogy is pretty crude, it drives the point home. To be a fully operational system, All parts must function freely, without hang ups.
So instead of comparing these aspects of our Self to a waterfall that only flows in one direction, I will compare them to the water cycle itself.
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Eternally Replenishing
and
Equal in Importance
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Our Spirit, or the Essence of who we are, is the water vapor condensing into clouds, preparing for rainfall.
Essence can be described as the necessary nature of something or someone. The core qualities that make it what it is. The nuances in how you come about in the world, your gestures, your speech, your presence.
This could be summed up as your creative identity. It is essentially up to you and only you to decide how you come about in this life.
How do you, do you?
This aspect of our Self is the most subtle. It's not in the words we say, but how we speak them. It is not the actions we do, but the energy we perform them in. It is how we arrive. It is how we depart.
To be in harmony with the aspect of Spirit, your unique Essence, is to consciously create a relationship with your True Nature. To be in communion with God. To express the vitality of Oneness with the Universe. To fulfill your knowingness.
To Be Who You Are
To be misaligned with this aspect may cause effects such as;
Feelings of despair, anxiety, nihilism, anger at life, or disappointment.
Missed opportunities, not exploring your potential, feeling fake or like an imposter.
Changing your speech or gestures around others, hiding pieces of your personality.
Unexplained pain or uncomfortable sensations in the body, restlessness, irritation.
Activities to support this aspect will be different for each individual depending on their temperament, condition, and ideals.
Being creative is a wonderful way to reconnect with your unique Essence. The potential for possibilities are infinite. You can create art, music, dance, structure out an idea like a future business endeavor, connect with your intuition and follow it through. This connects us with the unspoken voice within all of us and gives it tangible life.
Deepening or creating spiritual and religious practices and rituals can be a great way to identify and tune into the source of this vital energy as well. This may include prayer, meditation, chanting, manifesting, spells, and introspection.
I have personally explored different forms of religion in varying degrees, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, New-Age Spiritualism, and have experience in following examples set by others, as well as creating my own practices and rituals.
I can assist you in exploring new avenues that you haven't explored yet, or accompany your venture into the wilderness, offering an encouraging perspective, while you create your own way.
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Our Emotional Life, the feelings we feel, may collectively be referred to as our Soul. Emotions bring brightness and depth to our lives.
Emotions come forth in our life as the water that finally forms droplets in the clouds and falls upon the Earth. Rain may come in big, fat drops that freshens the air and gives all of the flowers a tasty drink. Rain may also come in small, stinging needles that hit the hardened, dry soil. It may descend as a fine mist, or cause a torrential deluge. It's all the same water, but expresses itself in many ways.
All of the possible emotions are completely valid to feel! It is important to allow ourselves to feel the current emotion. How we choose to express the emotion outwardly is something that we have complete control over and is usually the part that gets ignored, looked over, or discarded completely.
There is no guide on how exactly to express an emotion. However, there are definitely ways to do so that do not cause harm to our Self, or others.
To be balanced with our Emotions is when we allow our Self to really feel the feelings, without negative self talk. To further be able to express the felt emotion in a way that does not cause harm to your Self or another individual.
Expressing emotions is a creative choice. It is the perfect fuel for creation work. This is why creating art in some form is also beneficial for our Soul.
Art is a safe and constructive way to channel any emotion.
When we are not living with a balanced Emotional Life, we may "Get Stuck in a Rut". For example, Depressive episodes are very difficult to break away from. Observing and acknowledging these persistent emotions or lack thereof is the first step in addressing this phenomena. Depending on the Individual's unique life situation, different activities may support their transition into getting back in touch with the rest of their emotional experience.
Stagnant emotions may be like a bitter draught or an unceasing monsoon. This lack of variety can easily spill over and affect our mental habits in negative ways. It is also able to form energetic blockages in our bodies that manifest as physical pain, odd heart rhythm, extreme fatigue, stomach and digestive complaints.
I am here to provide a safe and confidential space for you to acknowledge your emotions. I will suggest different activities for you to express those feelings in a way that will promote growth and progress on your Wellness Path.
I am able to provide recommendations for getting back in touch with emotions that have been lacking in your life. This will guide you towards a more balanced experience of the emotional spectrum.
It's time to reconnect with our entire Soul.
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Our Mind is the mental construct of our Self. All of our thoughts that are expressed through our words and actions, as well as the thoughts that stay internalized, is the Mind.
In the water cycle analogy, our Mind is the water that has collected on the Earth's surface, creating rivers, lakes, swamps, and oceans.
Having an oceanic mind has been used as a compliment in literary works, meaning to be all encompassing, open, deep, and harboring a variety of life.
While this seems pleasant and tranquil, water can't always all be in the Ocean. Water travels through many places on the surface. It runs down mountainsides and carves deep valleys. It filters itself through swamps, bogs, and marshes. It gathers in powerful rivers and trickling streams.
The most important thing is that water Flows
While at times, we may get stuck in a muddy puddle or a stinky, algae bloom pond, this is never our final mental resting place. Water will always continue to move, be it fast or excruciatingly slow.
Habitual thought patterns have captured us all to some degree. It may be mostly harmless, like having a cup of coffee every morning. Or it may be detrimental to our health, such as smoking cigarettes. While both of these examples are also physical addictions, much of the addiction lives in the thought pattern.
Some are complete mental constructs, or at least begin that way. Reoccurring thoughts can create a deep rut in our mentality that is difficult to escape.
An analogy I heard before was that our mind is like a sledding hill with a fresh coat of snow. If we only take the same path again and again, it becomes the only path. Even if we try to start a new path, a new habit, we can easily get sucked into the well worn path and arrive at the same outcome.
Sometimes we need to completely remove our Self from this habit or we will continue to find different starting points that only lead to the same destination. Other times, we need some fresh fallen snow.
I am able to support your search for starting points in creating new, helpful, and healthy habits. I will offer suggestions and encourage your progress.
There are different activities for calming the mind which can be very effective for returning to a more clear and conscious state of Wellness. I will share my experience with these practices.
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While a lot of water stays on the surface and gets evaporated back into cloud formation, much of it sinks deep within the Earth. This groundwater forms pools deep underground. It moistens and saturates the soil from within. This is our Body. The water within the vessel.
Our Body is the physical manifestation of our Self. All of the functions voluntary, and involuntary, cooperate into one complex organism.
Our bodies are mostly controlled by biology itself. We don't need to tell our heart to pump blood, it beats on it's own. We didn't need to teach our stomach, pancreas, liver, and intestines how to process the food we eat into nutrients, it digests all on it's own. We don't choose to heal the cut on our thumb, Nature knows what to do.
Most of our physical functions take care of themselves. We are a mostly perpetual process that doesn't need to be drastically altered. However, maintaining our machine with high quality ingredients and environment is very important to operate smoothly.
Drinking adequate amounts of water for our size and activity level is absolutely necessary for all physical functions.
Eating foods that contain needed vitamins, minerals, proteins, sugars, fats, are the best way to deliver these as materials for our body to create new cells, repair damaged tissue, and regulate our natural rhythms.
Allowing our body to rest and not overdoing stimulating activities, such as ingesting caffeine, alcohol, and screen-time is very important.
Getting our bodies moving to some extent is equally important as having a nutritional diet, and maybe even more so! Taking a daily walk, having random solo dance parties, or engaging in a devoted exercise regimen are just a few ways to stay active.
Everyone's ability to move will be different and unique. Doing thirty minutes of cardio followed by intense weight lifting is not safe or suitable for everyone! Yoga may be too slow and boring for some.
No matter how you do it, it is important to find a way to move that is in your comfort zone and is genuinely enjoyable. This ensures that you will want to keep doing it!
Acknowledging where we are now and accepting our body for it's amazing capabilities is essential for Wellness. Our path is our own and will vary from others. They should not be compared.
Physical dis-ease may have different root causes. Digestive discomfort may be caused by eating foods that do not benefit the body. It may also be caused by mental stress or anxiety. There is no one cause to explain a physical symptom. Each individual will have a different way of arriving there.
Taking this into consideration, I will assist you in analyzing your bodily discomforts and offer advice on avoiding possible triggers while providing alternative approaches to consider.
I can assist you in creating meal plans, explain how certain herbs and supplements may give your body a supportive boost, and encourage you to continue finding playful ways to stay active!
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As water continuously flows and transforms, so does the vital life energy within us.
This continuity is expressed in many forms, but it is all interconnected.
Having a misaligned, imbalanced, disordered aspect in one area will eventually affect all other areas and functions.
This is why observing, analyzing, and adjusting all of our multifaceted Self is so important when traveling the Path of Wellness.
All of these aspects, our Body, Mind, Soul, and Spirit coordinate together in
One Unified System
Of
Whole Integrated Embodied Wellness