The beginning of a new year is a great time to evaluate where we are in our lives- health, relationships, spirituality.  I believe a solid spiritual foundation is the key to a healthy mind, body, and of course soul.   How can we find the purpose of our lives and live accordingly? That is what spirituality is all about. We need spirituality, not only to overcome serious diseases, but also to lead a healthy and genuinely happy and fulfilled life. But what is spirituality? Different people have different ideas about it.

As I see it, everyone is being led down their own spiritual path. However, there are two possible paths. If we listen for guidance, such as with prayer and meditation or our general attitude or conduct, we will be led gently. The alternative is more common and painful. If we stray too far from the desired direction, we may run into a brick wall that forces us to change course. At that point, we may encounter a disease or calamity in our social or professional life that causes us to re-evaluate our life.

Following the spiritual path means that we consciously work on improving ourselves on a biological and mental level.  On the biological level, this means cleansing the body of lifelong deposits of metabolic wastes and -toxins. We also improve our living conditions by minimizing harmful factors and maximizing beneficial factors. This can involve decisions on things like a healthier diet, but also on relationships and who we choose to spend our time with.  On the mental level, this means cleansing ourselves of negative thoughts/ blockages and learning to generate positive and beneficial thoughts and beliefs.  This could involve a practice of gratitude or service to others, such as volunteering.

After achieving a certain level of control over our body and mind, we are able to move along on the spiritual path. As a reward, our body will most likely be much healthier; we will generally be content, happy, and increasingly joyful. By this time also our individual purpose for being in this body will have become clearer and we may act accordingly.  

True health, with full body, organ, and glandular functioning is so rare that we mistake the absence of disease for health. In order to set goals to work toward true health, we have to first understand how we got where we are. Here are the main factors causing widespread health deterioration:

1. Unnatural nutrition: Over processed, prepackaged food that has been stripped of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Genetically modified food, junk food, and sugar- laden food.  Excessive carbohydrate intake, poor intake of vegetables.

2. Chemical exposure: Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, food additives, water and air pollution, plastics and other synthetic materials, and even a buildup of medical drugs in the system.

3. Heavy metal exposure: Mercury, aluminum, nickel, cadmium, lead, arsenic.  A buildup of excessive iron or copper can also be harmful.

3. Exercise: Lack of sufficient physical activity or excessive exercise without sufficient balance of mental exercise/ parasympathetic activities (meditation, yoga, qi-gong, foot massage, spinal twists).

4. Harmful negative feelings and emotions: Resentment, fear, discontent, greed, envy, and lack of positive feelings and emotions, such as gratitude, devotion, contentment, joy, unselfish love. Inability to forgive others and self and a lack of spirituality is also associated.

7. Inherited genetic problems: Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance suggests experiences and environmental exposures (toxins, chemicals) can change the way DNA works (without changing the DNA itself) and this is passed on to future generations.

Many of these unhealthy habits have been learned from society.  Due to ignorance and habit, we select the wrong foods. Out of laziness, we do not exercise. From a lack of patience and self-control, we create harmful, negative feelings. What is worse, these poor decisions can affect the health of our grandchildren.  However, just as poor lifestyle choices activate genetic insufficiencies; a healthy lifestyle with adequate nutrition can correct the deterioration and take us back on a path to true health.