The key to holistic health is to start with spiritual health. There are no short-cuts to this. Often, the tendency is to see only our physical fitness needs, not realizing that overall fitness starts with the spirit. Begin with spiritual health for holistic health.

What is spiritual health?

Spiritual health is when your spirit dominates soul and body. Think of the spirit, soul, and body as being in a constant tug-of-war. The soul is in the middle waiting to be pulled either by the spirit or the flesh (or body)–whichever is stronger. The soul (mind and awareness) is always neutral.

If the body (or flesh) is stronger than the spirit, we are dictated by the cravings or desires of our fleshly or carnal inclinations. What the flesh wants, it gets. The soul just obeys the flesh. You begin to have a mindset that supports whatever the body wants and often compromises what it knows to be truth. The spirit, being outnumbered (two against one), easily succumbs and goes with the flow. Thus, the flesh leads, the soul obeys, and the spirit is merely carried along.

For instance, if our body doesn’t feel like working out, the mind will just agree, even if it knows the need for exercise. The spirit will just be pulled along by the flesh and soul. Often, in this case, it is dead. If the body craves for fatty food–and the spirit is weak (or dead) to oppose it–the mind will just obey the flesh and think of ways how to feed the craving, though it knows the disadvantages of fats. Read the rest of this entry »