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Recently, many people have suggested that to keep up with the ever-increasing pace of modern-day existence, I should start using Chat GPT. For those who don’t know what chat GPT is, allow me to tell you what Chat GPT itself says when asked.
It tells you that Chat GPT stands for “Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer.” It goes on to say that it can “engage in natural language conversation with users, answer questions, provide explanations, generate creative text, and more. It’s AI basically (God I really hope I haven’t offended it by saying that, especially when it turns into Skynet).
Writing blogs is one thing that people have suggested it can help with. But doesn’t that seem like cheating? I’m not fully over the idea that it is, but it’s more important to me to keep up in this fast-paced world, so I do use it from time to time.
Which is why when I sat to write this blog, “What Is Holistic Wellness?” I thought I’d give Chatty his chance to tell me what he knows about the subject. This what he (she….they) said.
“Holistic wellness is an approach to overall health and well-being that considers the interconnectedness of various aspects of a person’s life. It goes beyond just physical health and takes into account the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions. The goal is to achieve balance and harmony in all these areas to enhance one’s overall quality of life and promote a sense of wholeness. Practices such as mindfulness, proper nutrition, regular exercise, stress management, and fostering healthy relationships are often embraced in the pursuit of holistic wellness.”
End of blog, right?
Well, I’d like to think that in my infinite human wisdom I can expand on the best a robot (sorry again if that offends you) can produce, and then offer some practical advice on exactly how you’d start to practically move towards what’s been so eloquently put, above.
There are two words not mentioned in the Chat GPT response and those are “integration” and “choice.” Ok, “interconnectedness” and “wholeness” are kind of the same thing as “integration.” But there’s a subtle difference. “Interconnectedness” for instance suggests there are different parts that are somehow joined by a network, which of course accurately describes many things within reality, if not everything. Whereas integration as I understand it is the bringing in of different parts so that they become one and are held in the same space.
Where is that space? It’s the centre. And what is the centre? Well, it’s the middle line. The line that separates left and right, and male and female, and all other polarity. And when you look closely in at that line, you’ll find that it doesn’t really exist. There’s not a black line drawn in marker pen. There’s not a wooden dowl. There’s a nothingness that holds both perfectly and doesn’t favour either. Integration is a state of perfect balance.
An where there is perfect balance, there is reasoned “choice.” And choice is IT! It’s what you really want. To march to the beat of your own drum. To pursue the career you want. To love the people who’ll love you back. To follow your true passions. If you find that you’ve found Holistic Wellness.
To truly reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow may be more than a lifetimes work. But why wouldn’t you pursue it anyway and make life as good as you can?
So using Chat GPT’s categories, physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual I’ll give my top tips on how to be “Holistically Well.”
Physical – Do exercise that involves your whole body. Deadlifts, crawling, martial arts, sprinting are all great choices. And while you’re at it, really feel what’s happening. Not just, “I can feel my legs getting tired,” or, “I can feel my arms swinging back and forth.” Get super inquisitive and mindful about exactly what you’re experiencing. The sensations you can feel in your feet. How your breath feels when you perform the exercise. Noticing the feeling of discomfort as you tire, and then staying with it!
Mental – Learn to disidentify. To do this topic justice you should do some research into Roberto Assagioli. He was the forefather of a strand of psychotherapy known as psychosynthesis. He said, “We are dominated by everything with which identify.” You’re telling yourself a story about who you are, and this is tripping you up. Stop doing that if you can. It takes a while. As Eddie Bravo would say, “look into it!”
Emotional – If you don’t know how you feel, talk to someone about it. If you do know, keep it to yourself. The world we live in loves to tell us, particularly men, we need to talk about our feelings. Yes, and no. If you don’t understand what a particular feeling is, or that your anger is a covering emotion for shame, or you’re so overwhelmed by whatever you feel that you self harm, talk to someone – a friend, a therapist, whoever. When you know exactly how you feel (and by the way no one can tell you how you feel), be stoic, and keep it to yourself. Act properly despite the feelings. They don’t own you!
Social – Listen to people, without saying anything at all about yourself. My wife will laugh that I’ve put this in here. But I know that when I’ve learnt to listen to her, I’ll be much more whole and well.
And finally Spiritual – Dedicate yourself to a practice that allows you to find a mediative state. Meditation in the traditional sense is most obvious. But breathwork, long distance running, cold water immersion and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all work. But I mean truly dedicate yourself. Pick one and do it every day for a year. See what happens.
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