What is Holistic Wellbeing?
Much of the technique of modern science arises from "cartesian thinking". Attributed to French philosopher, Rene Descartes, Cartesian Thinking proposes deconstructing every problem into much smaller parts and solving for each part. While this approach has been hugely succeeded in progressing human understanding, it has also, unfortunately, boxed much of human knowledge into separate silos that are never integrated into a whole. This becomes a real problem when it is applied as a method in dealing with human wellbeing, since our wellbeing is clearly the result of a complex interplay of many different variables across the physical, the mental, the emotional, the spiritual etc
Enter the contemporary notion of holistic wellbeing. Actually, the idea that one needs to simultaneously address multiple & interacting variables in achieving human wellbeing is not a new one. In fact, it is one of the core pillars of ancient thought, especially of ancient Indian knowledge over 5000 years
Indic (ie. timeless Indian) knowledge sees the world as a continuous 'dance' of energy and all living beings as being part of that elaborate dance. In the Indic system, one is considered to be not in wellbeing when the individual's own dance is out of step with the overall. Therefore all of Indic Wellbeing Knowledge over the last 5000 years is designed to synchronise each individual's life-dance to the larger dance of reality
To achieve this synchronicity, Indic Wellbeing does three steps:
Step 1 : assess the innate qualities of the specific individual
Step 2 : discover those aspects of the individual's current life that are misaligned with any of these qualities
Step 3 : build and implement a personalised life journey that simultaneously integrates multiple practices, products, mindsets & experiences in a unique combination
It is important to note here that the true power of Indic Wellbeing lies in the achieving the right combination. The right combination is one where the impact of all the variables together is a lot more than the sum total of each of the variables taken separately. In short, it produces the magic of synergy
So, the next time someone proposes a holistic path to wellbeing, make sure that they are not just suggesting a set of individual practices, products, experiences etc. Take a close look at the combination to make sure that you are harnessing the power of synergy
Good call to action (to introspect) if our "own dance is out of step with the overall". Very interesting!
Ayurveda Physician and Blogger
2moVery interesting! Looking forward to more.
Board Leadership | C-Level Advisory | Operating Expertise
2moSo interesting, not many people realize this