A Comprehensive Model
A Comprehensive Model
I thought it might be nice to step-back and discuss a bit of the bigger picture of the sources of mental health/unhealth. In this way we can each start to spot some of our blind-spots and biases. Also if we want to go beyond dealing with crises and with problems as their arise - if we want to develop a pro-active approach to psychic health, we will want an over-all model of human health/unhealth. This is an initial sketch of one such model.
This model will discuss five major dimensions of human's being and health, some of which have sub-categories. The categories are: Absolute awareness, Psychic senses, Mundane faculties: intellectual, emotional, physical, Dissociated psychic material, and Our environment: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical.
Absolute/Divine awareness - A massive subject that I don't want to say too much about this right now. It is the very core of our being, and is always inherently pure, however our recognition of it can become quite clouded over, leading us into constricted, small-minded concerns. A healthy human turns toward it and seeks reconnect with it regularly.
Psychic senses - These will be more relevant when I talk later about our environment, since they are actually our means of interacting with our spiritual environment. At this point I just want to note that I regard this as a real dimension of human life. Health in this regard is a matter of clarifying one's psychic senses - learning to recognize when they are speaking but also learning to discern between psychic senses and one's own psychological material.
Mundane faculties - This is basically our conventional, day-to-day mode of (dys)function.
Intellectual - not just our ability to think but also our conceptual symbols, systems, and tools.
Emotional - The hallmark of great emotional health is, of course, love - not a craving kind of love but a love that pours out of us freely and as widely as possible. If that is not our on-going experience then we should be cultivating attitudes of gratitude, forgiveness, awe, generosity, responsibility, etc.
Physical - The most significant general issue here, for our purposes, is the epidemic of chronic inflammations due to toxicity and undiagnosed allergies (either respiratory, ie mold, or dietary). Basic physical health guidance: Get moderate exercise - Taiji/Qigong is my recommendation, but whatever floats your boat, really. And invest in your diet. Pursue organic, nutrient dense foods, and experiment with removing the various leading allergens from your diet.
Dissociated psychic material - This mostly results from trauma, and must be approached carefully, but at the same time ignoring it is a luxury that we don't really have, because it can do a lot of damage to our lives until it is integrated and because it will make attempts to surface on its own, often in quite disruptive ways, and not always at times that are convenient for us. So we are better off working on integrating it during periods of stability in our life.
Environment - We are not closed systems. I think everyone is aware of the importance of environment on our health (and the more tenuous our health is, the more reactive we become to disruptions in environment). Here I want to talk specifically about maintaining one's spiritual environment, since this is an important part of psychic health which seems to be hugely under-discussed around here. Many people are focused on dealing in one way or another with their demons (however those are interpreted, whether as dissociated psychic material or external psychic parasites), but to the extent that one is dealing with dark, confused, or disturbed psychic forces, one should also be strengthening oneself with connections to trustworthy beings of light, clarity, and holiness. There are many to be found and I am happy to make suggestions, but the basic thing here is to find one's that you trust and resonate well with, and then make a regular practice of connecting with them (i.e. prayer), and as much as possible to keep them lightly present in your mind throughout the day.
I thought it might be nice to step-back and discuss a bit of the bigger picture of the sources of mental health/unhealth. In this way we can each start to spot some of our blind-spots and biases. Also if we want to go beyond dealing with crises and with problems as their arise - if we want to develop a pro-active approach to psychic health, we will want an over-all model of human health/unhealth. This is an initial sketch of one such model.
This model will discuss five major dimensions of human's being and health, some of which have sub-categories. The categories are: Absolute awareness, Psychic senses, Mundane faculties: intellectual, emotional, physical, Dissociated psychic material, and Our environment: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical.
Absolute/Divine awareness - A massive subject that I don't want to say too much about this right now. It is the very core of our being, and is always inherently pure, however our recognition of it can become quite clouded over, leading us into constricted, small-minded concerns. A healthy human turns toward it and seeks reconnect with it regularly.
Psychic senses - These will be more relevant when I talk later about our environment, since they are actually our means of interacting with our spiritual environment. At this point I just want to note that I regard this as a real dimension of human life. Health in this regard is a matter of clarifying one's psychic senses - learning to recognize when they are speaking but also learning to discern between psychic senses and one's own psychological material.
Mundane faculties - This is basically our conventional, day-to-day mode of (dys)function.
Intellectual - not just our ability to think but also our conceptual symbols, systems, and tools.
Emotional - The hallmark of great emotional health is, of course, love - not a craving kind of love but a love that pours out of us freely and as widely as possible. If that is not our on-going experience then we should be cultivating attitudes of gratitude, forgiveness, awe, generosity, responsibility, etc.
Physical - The most significant general issue here, for our purposes, is the epidemic of chronic inflammations due to toxicity and undiagnosed allergies (either respiratory, ie mold, or dietary). Basic physical health guidance: Get moderate exercise - Taiji/Qigong is my recommendation, but whatever floats your boat, really. And invest in your diet. Pursue organic, nutrient dense foods, and experiment with removing the various leading allergens from your diet.
Dissociated psychic material - This mostly results from trauma, and must be approached carefully, but at the same time ignoring it is a luxury that we don't really have, because it can do a lot of damage to our lives until it is integrated and because it will make attempts to surface on its own, often in quite disruptive ways, and not always at times that are convenient for us. So we are better off working on integrating it during periods of stability in our life.
Environment - We are not closed systems. I think everyone is aware of the importance of environment on our health (and the more tenuous our health is, the more reactive we become to disruptions in environment). Here I want to talk specifically about maintaining one's spiritual environment, since this is an important part of psychic health which seems to be hugely under-discussed around here. Many people are focused on dealing in one way or another with their demons (however those are interpreted, whether as dissociated psychic material or external psychic parasites), but to the extent that one is dealing with dark, confused, or disturbed psychic forces, one should also be strengthening oneself with connections to trustworthy beings of light, clarity, and holiness. There are many to be found and I am happy to make suggestions, but the basic thing here is to find one's that you trust and resonate well with, and then make a regular practice of connecting with them (i.e. prayer), and as much as possible to keep them lightly present in your mind throughout the day.
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