While I was establishing goals for the 2013 year, an article by Deepak Chopra titled, “The big idea(s) for 2013: A Critical Mass of Consciousness” caught my attention. As I read further, I realized that a goal has a better chance of being successful if it is in concert with the efforts of others. Chopra successfully makes this point when he states, “Our world right now is in a state of worrisome turbulence and chaos. If we are to achieve any measure of success in creating a more peaceful, just, sustainable, and healthy planet, it will require more than the participation of governments and businesses. We'll need a critical mass of consciousness on the part of the people.”
Let’s look at one aspect of this larger goal: a planet full of healthy people.
The goal of helping create a critical mass of consciousness (awareness) about health and the importance of this goal to each individual is very timely when considering how health care options are determined. Timely, because by January 2014 almost every individual in the United States will be mandated to buy health insurance or pay a fine.
This collective health awareness will need a critical mass of people who have found alternative and traditional therapies that work for them, and regulators who make them accessible under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If the new health care law is confined to traditional Western medical practices, and modeled after existing delivery systems, Dr. Andrew Weil’s comment in the documentary Escape Fire, “We don’t have a health care system, we have a disease care system,” may describe our future.
Another issue is how patients will be treated, both mentally and physically. Do they need to take more responsibility for their health instead of routinely turning to the medical community to manage their lives through drugs? How do we achieve a critical mass of consciousness in this area?
Dr. Lissa Rankin urges, “The solution is not more tests, more drugs, or more procedures. The solution requires physicians to spend more time with patients engaging in the art of healing and educating patients not just about diet, exercise, getting enough sleep, and taking vitamins, but also the other factors. To be wholly healthy, you need to do more than care for your physical body. It’s also essential to be healthy in your relationships, your work life, your creative life, your spiritual life, your financial life, your environment, and your mental health.”
Article comments
1 - Natasha Deonarain, MD, MBA
I like to take a look at the biggest picture possible, and become aware of the context we operate. Our paradigm in healthcare is one that creates disease. When we can see this clearly and how its integrated into a mind-set of disease, we can then seek to find our way out and operate from a different paradigm. A health conscious movement is the answer!
2 - Don Ingwerson
Thank you. We do have to reach out for different paradigms to solve our health problems and the exploration of alternative therapies may be most helpful. There seems to be much research indicating that if the spiritual man is in order many of the physical problems may be resolved.
3 - Igor
Don
Sounds like you're putting too much faith in prayer.
I'd rather see basic healthcare delivered to all Americans, even if that means the dreaded Obamacare.
4 - Gary Daly
Thanks for the article. I also read the article from Deepak and found it very interesting. We all have to lead by example. I think if your friends see you working out and see how healthy, fit and happy you are then they will follow suit. Even if one of them does, that's a victory in itself :)
5 - Jerry McIntire
Don, thanks for looking at the big picture and inviting such a variety of thinkers to this work of uniting and making our needs be heard here in the US and around the world. People of many backgrounds are finding how central consciousness is to health, and gaining an appreciation for health that is well-rounded: physical, spiritual, relational, etc.