The Holistic Approach

Holistic wellness is an approach to health and well-being that considers the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—as interconnected and interdependent. 

The word "holistic" comes from the Greek word "holos," which means "whole" or "complete."

In this talk, Bassam breaks down 3 fundamental elements of holistic wellness, and presents key principles, including, balance, prevention, Mind-body connection, self-care, emotional well-being, and spiritual connection, to anyone wishing to learn about holistic wellness.

The talk ends with a 5-minute, soothing gratitude meditation.

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Bassem.

Thank you for joining me.

Whatever time zone you are in and wherever you are,

It's always the here and now.

If you're joining me for the first time,

These are talks dedicated to those who are knowingly and unknowingly also on the spiritual path,

Providing tools and insights and suggestions and practices and inspiration and support to help them in this transition from a purely materialistic point of view to one that encompasses a sense of spirit,

The soul,

Its purpose,

Its reason for incarnating in the physical plane,

What it wishes to share with the world,

And the love that it wishes to transmit within its capacity as an individual in loving service of the good of all,

For the good of all.

For that to happen,

Of course,

We must find it in ourselves to somehow get out of the way,

To let go of that which was always unreal and to become an embodiment of that which was always real.

Tonight,

We're going to be talking about holistic wellness and explore holistic approaches to wellness as a practice that can support us in this transition from the material to the spiritual,

By means of which our minds can become once again in service of the heart.

So,

What do we mean when we talk about holistic wellness?

I would like to define it simply as an approach that can support us on this journey,

That considers the whole person,

Body,

Mind,

Energy,

Spirit,

As interconnected and interdependent.

The word holistic comes from the Greek word holos,

Which means a whole or complete.

So,

Holistic essentially means considering the whole or the complete person without anything left amiss.

So,

It treats and considers the entire person,

Not merely the physical.

So,

Holistic wellness then recognizes the intrinsic relationship between the parts,

Our overall quality of life also,

Which are influenced by various factors like the physical experience,

The mental experience,

The emotional,

The spiritual aspects,

But also the social and the communal,

Considers our complete reality and the various factors that contribute to that reality.

What are some of the key principles of holistic health?

The first word that comes to my mind is balance,

Prevention,

Mind-body connection,

Self-care,

Emotional well-being and resilience,

Spiritual connection.

There are many others,

But let's just start there.

Let's briefly examine some of these or each of these.

Balance,

Of course,

Refers to the effort of striving for harmony in our lives,

Emotional well-being,

Relationships and personal growth.

But in terms of balance,

In practice,

This means setting aside things like time for regular exercise,

Movement.

It can also help the body,

The mind and the emotions to synchronize,

To align,

Allowing something higher to enter.

The teacher Gurdjieff,

Who I often mention,

A particular facet of his teaching,

The fourth way tradition,

Are the movements that are practiced very precisely in order to cause an alignment between the physical center,

The emotional center,

The mental center,

In the hope that through this alignment,

A greater force may be activated,

A greater awareness,

A greater consciousness.

Also practicing stress reduction techniques like mindfulness,

Meditation,

Breath work.

It also includes maintaining healthy relationships with loved ones and pursuing personal development goals,

All in a bid to create a well-rounded and harmonious life where nothing is being left unattended.

And in terms of prevention,

To me,

Prevention is taking measures to stay healthy rather than just treating symptoms or illnesses.

So it includes factors like having a diet that works for you,

Fasting perhaps once a week,

Giving your body a chance to digest and to rest,

To release.

Prevention can include purification processes like doing enemas.

This may be a bit full on for some,

But coffee enemas are a great way of purifying the body,

Cleansing the liver,

Organs.

Prevention includes also getting enough sleep.

It's remarkable to me that some people don't get enough sleep.

I mean,

I seem surprised by that because for me,

Sleeping is just a wonderful activity.

I love sleeping.

So getting enough sleep,

Whether for you that's seven hours or six hours or eight hours or nine hours,

Whatever it is,

In order for you to function in a loving way,

For the mind to be clear,

For you to be emotionally resilient.

Of course,

If you're spending all day in bed,

That's an indication that perhaps you need to consult a GP.

This is the standard protocol as a mental health first aid consultant.

We always recommend that the first point of contact with help is to go and see a GP,

See if there's something wrong,

At least eliminate that,

Get rid of that out of the equation,

And they will be able to guide you from there.

It could be also malnutrition,

It could be mineral deficiency,

It could be any number of things that are easily treated.

For example,

You might be for years struggling from back pain,

Let's say,

And you do all sorts of things,

Chiropractor,

This,

This,

This,

This,

This,

And you don't find lasting relief,

And then somebody suggests to you that it could be a good idea for you to look into a good magnesium supplement in powder form or whatever,

And you decide to take that,

And lo and behold,

Miracle of all miracles,

20 years of back pain just suddenly disappears.

That was me.

So,

What else did we say?

Mind and body connection?

Acknowledging the profound influence of mental and emotional states have on physical health,

And vice versa.

I wonder how sober we are about the effect that our mental health and our emotional health has on our physical health.

The parable that's often used,

That I use on occasion to try to describe or to illustrate the relationship between the body,

Mind,

And emotions,

This interconnectedness that I mentioned earlier,

A cart with a horse,

A rider,

And the master sleeping in the back,

And the horse represents in this the emotions,

The cart represents the physical body,

The driver or the rider of the cart represents the intellect,

The mind,

And the sleeping master in the back represents the possibility for alignment or union between the cart,

The horse,

And the driver.

But the point of this is the interconnectedness,

The link,

The reins between the cart,

The horse,

And the rider,

It must be well placed.

The slightest movement on behalf of the rider,

Who represents the intellect,

Will have an effect on the horse,

Which will have an effect on the cart.

And likewise,

The journey,

The path,

The effect that the path has on the cart,

The way it affects the horse,

And the way it affects the rider,

They act as one.

Now,

The idea of the sleeping master in the back is that along the way,

The driver has decided to get drunk and is no longer capable of controlling the horse,

And therefore controlling the cart,

And along the way,

The horse,

Which is of a particular or particularly sensitive nature,

Spots a coiled rope along the way,

What looks like a snake,

And mistakes it for a snake.

And because it's a shy horse,

The emotions,

According to the way it was raised,

And according to the way it was treated early on,

It gets frightened and bolts,

And it takes off in the wrong direction and heads towards a cliff.

But the driver is too drunk to control the horse and makes things worse.

And it's here that it is absolutely crucial or necessary for the sleeping master to wake up and take control of the situation.

Otherwise,

They're heading for doom.

This parable that Gurdjieff used illustrates the relationship between the body,

Mind,

And the emotions,

And the possibility of awakening.

Another facet of holistic wellness is self-care,

Which really we are already talking about,

And this includes self-care practices,

Like nutrition,

Balanced diet,

Fasting once a week,

Drinking good water,

Relaxation,

Setting time for mindfulness,

And addressing your emotional well-being.

You might have practices like journaling or focusing techniques.

You might be working with a coach or a holistic practitioner who can help you deal with emotional releases,

Inner child work,

Shadow work,

Also coping strategies,

Preferably positive ones,

Not strategies like drinking or drugs and all of this,

Which may relieve in the moment,

But all they do is repress the emotions that are trying to rise in order to release.

So,

Having good coping strategies to manage stress and nurture mental and emotional resistance,

But also family is a strategy,

Friends is a strategy.

This platform might be one of your strategies for dealing with this transition,

This transformation from purely a material point of view to a spiritual point of view.

Holistic wellness also includes a spiritual connection,

Not just family connection or friendship,

But spiritual connection,

Spiritual brotherhood,

Spiritual sisterhood,

Those who are on the path with you,

Those who are at the same time that you're going through this experience of transforming from a purely material perspective to a spiritual point of view,

Who just happen to be traveling that path at the same time that you are in the same place.

This is not an accident.

When we begin to realize this,

We begin to also realize that we are not alone,

Even though the mind continues to tell us that we are alone.

So,

This connection helps us to explore our sense of purpose,

Our meaning in life and connection to something greater than oneself,

Which of course can vary wildly and widely from person to person.

Some of us might choose to work with an individual who represents a teacher,

Or some of us might work in a group or a community.

Trust in yourself and also allow yourself to explore in the beginning,

But once you have locked something in,

Don't be a doubler.

Don't be one of those people who use spirituality or spiritual platforms as a way of gaining entertainment.

Whilst it's a better conversation,

It's important to recognize if you're doing that,

Not to punish yourself,

But in order to practice self-compassion and to begin to make demands on your habits and begin to put into practice strategies for getting out of that.

I'd like to also speak about this spiritual connection a little bit more,

This community of being connected with others and seeing them as brothers and sisters on the path with you.

It doesn't mean you have to agree with them or disagree with them,

It doesn't even mean anything apart from just recognizing that,

Because in recognizing them as brothers and sisters on the path,

You inevitably wish them well,

You inevitably have good thoughts for them and good feelings towards them,

And thus begins your own transformation.

Often people are caught up in the trap of wishing good things for themselves and getting anything but good things for themselves.

Why is that?

I once heard the definition of the difference between white magic and black magic.

First of all,

The definition of magic is causing change through conscious will,

And the difference between white magic and black magic is this.

One is causing change through conscious will for my benefit,

And the other is causing change through conscious will also for the benefit of all.

Now I'll leave it up to you to decide which is white magic and which is black.

So to pray for others is to pray for yourself.

To wish others well is to wish yourself well,

And I find it quite wonderful,

This understanding,

Because to me it seems to be a kind of universal insurance plan.

No one here gets out on their own,

And of course it brings to mind the bodhisattvas of the buddhist tradition,

The zen buddhist tradition.

If you want good for yourself,

Then wish good for others.

Therein lies the secret of prayer.

Pray for yourself,

Pray for others.

Khalid Gibran,

The Lebanese poet,

Mystic,

Artist,

Said,

The art in giving is not in giving what others need.

True giving is in giving what you yourself need.

If you need money,

Give money.

If you need love,

Give love.

If you need lightness,

Be light.

And so in prayer,

Pray according to your own suffering.

If you are lonely,

Pray that others find their inner connection.

If you are poor,

Pray that others become wealthy.

If you are unhappy,

Pray that others find happiness.

It really is not brain science,

And yet for the vast majority of us it has been covered up because of the distortions that are present in this day and age.

If any truth has a chance to survive,

It must be kept alive by those who are aware of the distortions of truth.

So,

In short,

What all of this was to say is that it's a good idea to think of holistic wellness as a way of fostering a sense of wholeness,

To see yourself as a cooperation combined of various dimensions,

And to try to consciously put in place a mechanism,

A way of being that considers you as a whole being,

Promoting not just the absence of illness,

But the presence of vitality in a higher quality of life.

In the Mental Health First Aid courses that we do,

We encourage an active role in our well-being,

As I'm doing now,

Encouraging you to take up meditation or to take up breathwork,

Journal,

Take care of your nutrition,

To exercise,

To work in a community,

To seek out a coach or a holistic therapist or soul astrologer.

There's no one who has ever realized their full possibility on their own.

No one has ever done life on their own and succeeded.

This is a collaborative endeavor,

Especially if you want to realize your inner possibility.

Active role in our well-being means sometimes working in groups or working in a way that you find works for you,

And consider the many dimensions that are available and that can contribute to a fulfilling life.

And practice self-compassion to the best of your ability,

Of course.

So how are we doing,

My friends?

And what have you gotten from this conversation so far?

We are a miracle being humans on this planet,

Traveling together in this exact moment in time.

Use your mind on purpose.

Give yourself good thoughts in order to celebrate.

He or she who is in service of others is blessed beyond measure.

Give and you shall receive.

To gain friends,

You must be a friend.

Don't expect others to give to you first.

Be the one you need.

Expecting others to do it for you or to give it first is a recipe for disaster,

In my experience only.

We are not alone.

In the same way,

All the fruits in a single tree are in the same tree.

There may be different points of readiness,

But at some point they all bloom.

Seek out and support each other is the wise man's way.

Do it because you understand the law of abundance.

You want something?

Wish it unto others.

You want money?

When you go to sleep,

Pray that others may be abundantly wealthy.

So this is a good opportunity now to perhaps begin to wind our conversation down,

To begin to become aware of our breath and perhaps move into a small little meditation to give gratitude for that which was given.

Let us become aware of our breathing just for a few minutes,

Five minutes or so.

If you feel to close your eyes,

You can close them,

Just noticing the softness of your breath.

Don't control the breath,

Just notice it.

Feeling the body expand with it even a little and feeling the body contract as it releases.

And as you notice this,

Now you begin to deepen your breathing.

You just lengthen the inhale a little bit longer and you let it fall.

With each inhale,

The body takes in this new life and celebrates it.

And with each exhale,

The body surrenders as it prepares for the next incoming incarnation of breath.

When you notice the mind has drifted away,

Simply bring it back.

Allow your focus to be exclusively focused on your breathing.

Don't allow the mind to steal you away from your breathing.

And now,

Allow the breath to come back to natural and from this space of inner connectedness,

We give our gratitude with humility to the best of my ability.

Exactly as I am in this moment,

I give thanks for my life.

I give thanks for my challenges.

I give thanks for my opportunity to endure,

To love,

To share,

And to sing the praise and the glory of abundance everywhere.

I wish abundance for everyone.

I wish health health for those who need it the most.

I wish peace for those who are anxious,

Depressed,

And stressed.

I wish you well,

My friends.

Thank you for joining me.

May all beings be hosts of love,

Service.

Good night to you from Sydney.

Reviews

Refreshing insights on bringing abundance into my life.

Wonderful talk Bassam. Love it so much. Thank you. Namaste.

Perfect summary of our needs, and all scopes of health, from individual to universal. Deeply grateful to you always, Bassam 💚🙏🏽✨️🧡

Great. Several good points taken to guide me further on this journey of life. 🕊😘🙏 thank you so

This is a wonderful and well articulated talk on the holistic approach. Seamlessly transitioning into a short, soothing, and inspiring meditation.