By Sunny Cooper, M.S., M.Ed., Diplomate in Asian Bodywork Therapy (NCCAOM)
In "Signs of Health- A Focus on Being," Part 1, I introduced the idea of looking at how we are "being" as a way of assessing our health and wellness. We discussed the first four of the "Seven Signs of Health in Traditional Chinese Medicine." This article will explore the last three, which account for 75% of the total possible score you can give yourself.
5. Always cheerful and pleasant; never angry (anger is always our own fault), no grousing or complaining (Max. 10 points).
I have found that some individuals become irritated by this notion of accepting responsibility (response-ability) for our emotions, disposition, and attitudes. We Americans live in a society which loves to place the locus of control and blame outside of ourselves. When a person can move to a level of personal evolution where we accept total responsibility for our choices, understand our emotional responses as communication from within about what we might need to change, and remain pleasant-tempered even under stressful conditions, we have made a very large step toward healthful being.
6. Easy decision-making; quick reflexes with no accidents. (Max 10 points).
There are two considerations in this item. First, easy decision-making relates to clarity about what one wants, along with good criteria for evaluating choices and good feedback mechanisms to know if we are getting what we want. For some people, decisions are a struggle in only a few areas, such as buying decisions, or what they want to eat. For others, almost every decision is a source of struggle and stress. They usually end up being the puppets of someone who likes being in charge and controlling others.
Second, quick reflexes with no accidents pertains to one's ability to respond to and operate in the external environment. There are people that we call "accident-prone." They are always bumping into objects, falling down, slipping, and other actions which suggest a problem inputting of sensory information or their inability to distinguish where they end and the outside world begins. In health, with the sensory faculties sharp and the neurological circuits firing well, a person moves lightly and gracefully, in good harmony with the other objects and beings in her/his proximity.
7. Appreciation and gratitude; a sense of higher purpose and being part of something bigger; acknowledge problems as opportunities; never having to lie to oneself or others (Max. 55 pts.)
This is the big one; more than half the total points come from this item. Appreciation and gratitude are the mark of an evolved person. The Chinese regard arrogance as the most serious of all possible illnesses because it shows that the person is completely out of touch with his place in the universal order of things.
A sense of purpose which relates to some form of teaching or healing (in the broadest sense) is also a very positive state. Many people who have discovered their "calling" describe an immediate transformation that changed their lives from that point forward. In the same vein, the wise and mature individual knows that our problems and difficulties in life are the way we come to possess our wisdom and maturity; therefore each problem or obstacle is an opportunity to learn a new skill or discover a new facet of life.
Never having to lie to self or others is a concept which is well known by the millions of people who have obtained sobriety through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, in which the fourth step in the recovery process entails "making a fearless and searching moral inventory of ourselves." If you want to check how you are doing with this one, you could look back over all the scores you have given yourself in this inventory, and notice if there are areas where you were less than totally honest with yourself. After all, no one else will ever see your score unless you wish to share. This can go either way; some people are too hard on themselves, and others tend to score themselves higher than they would if they were completely honest. To make the most significant and lasting positive changes in your health and well-being, it is important to identify the tell-tale signs of the imbalances that are there, and what you might need to learn to rebuild the internal harmony of health.
This evaluation is quite different than the one where you score high if you don't smoke, don't drink over "X" alcoholic drinks per week, exercise a couple times a week, watch your cholesterol, fat and salt intake, practice a relaxation technique, and don't have casual sex with strangers. Certainly those health-promoting behaviors are important, but our lives and our selves are much more than just a collection of habits, behaviors, and medical diagnostic report sheets. We are human "beings", so how we are "being" is greater than the sum of all the "doings" we are doing.
I invite you to copy down the Seven Signs and their point allocations, and keep it in a place where you can refer to it and take the test at various points along your path of self-discovery and evolution. You will find that your score goes up as your "well-being" increases.
Have a massage!
Return to Wellness Articles List
Return to Home Study Continuing Education for Massage Therapy Home Page