A Psychology of Wellness

A psychology of wellness...what a concept! I for one think it is a concept that is well over due. But can you even imagine what that would look like?

I have worked in the field of psychology for many years now... studying pathology in all of it's many facets and attempting to help people rediscover wellness. Even though I work from the perspective of body-mind-spirit it is hard for me to imagine how we in Western culture are going to change from searching for what is wrong and continually perpetuating our sense of limitation, to embracing what is right and good as a fundamental essence of our collective reality.

With all the images we see daily on all the various media available about the problems in society, medical and mental health care, education, commerce, ecology, personal and community relationships, etc... it is a tall order to change our paradigm from power over, might is right, survival of the most fit, to a paradigm that embraces wellness. Yet as I sit here pondering this concept there are cognitive/behavioral psychologists researching resiliency...the attributes that help us adapt and stay hopeful, creative, and productive despite adversity, and promoting wellness as part of positive psychology.

Our ancestors delved into finding the smallest common denominator in all areas of science over the past few hundreds years in an attempt to learn about the workings of our world, and while we have learned much, we have also forgotten how to look at the whole picture. As is depicted in the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams, we as a culture have taken the mouse's perspective of looking so closely at the minute details, and therefore miss the eagle's view of the big picture. I like that analogy because its an image I can understand. I am a detail oriented person and take great delight in details, but I also like to step away and see the whole picture. It is in seeing the vision of the whole that wellness... health, prosperity, sustainability, inclusiveness, love, and peace can be embraced.

The vision of wholeness, wellness, consciousness, sustainability and peace is what I desire to teach, to use in my healing practice, and to experience in my own life. Let's imagine Wellness as the norm in all areas of our lives. What does that look like to you?