I write about “well-centered fitness.” As an exercise physiologist and an exercise science professor by profession, I consider health—and the prospect of universal health (vs. “universal health care”)—to be a bio-mechanical-psycho-social construct (for more about this tune into The Aging Well Podcast for Episode 73 which airs on March 5th). Well-centered fitness, for anyone new to this blog, involves the balance of the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social dimensions of wellness. Most will not contest the importance of Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social wellness. I have, however, been told that “I am an atheist and don’t think there is a spiritual component to wellness.” I have also seen many who believe that their Spiritual well-centeredness rests in their religious faith and practice.
Spiritual well-centeredness is for all. Indeed, true Spiritual well-centeredness has no dependence on one’s belief in a god. It is defined simply as a belief that there is something “greater than self.” It is my experience that religion (that is the construct of religion as a shared system of beliefs and practices that tends to separate us) limits one’s Spiritual well-centeredness. Christianity, for example, is increasingly divided—Protestant, Catholic (Roman, Eastern, Orthodox, etc.), non-denominational, Baptist, Methodists, etc. Jesus, however, defined religion as caring for the “widowed and the fatherless” (James 1:27)—that is to care for something other than self. Religion also defines God. I have come to name the god who I believe in as “God” (like the use of “Lord” in the English translations of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible). The use of “God” signifies a god/God who transcend my comprehension and is Universal. It signifies that God who is defined as love, is the God of Creation (the Creation of the Book of Genesis and the God who emerges as one seeks to understand the science of Creation and the Universe), and the God who unites us all (Alpha to Omega) through the energy and forces that are revealed but not wholly understood by quantum physics. I use God to remind me that my beliefs are limited, and my Spiritual understanding is incomplete. I profess God to remind myself that I am not the center of the Universe and that my actions (and inactions) have consequences that ripple through time and space. It reminds me that my faith is inadequate (and often self-serving). Spiritual well-centeredness is kaizen (constant self-improvement) for the sake of others. It is a belief that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28)—the good of the infinite Universe/Creation. It is also grattitude (the attitude of gratitude).
Does one need to be religious or believe in a god/God to be Spiritually well-centered no. I personally believe, however, that God exists as the asymptote of well-centered fitness (and that includes the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social dimensions, as well as the Spiritual). I find that God is at the center of my “best today” and “better tomorrow.”
As one who professes to be a follower of Jesus and thus “Christian”, I believe Spiritual well-centeredness is defined by the two great commandments—to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). When we see this as a Universal commandment, we see it transcends religion and religious practice. Even an atheist (who can transcend “self”), then, can be “Spiritual.”
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento.