"The Secret" --- Key to Total Wellness

THE SECRET

Have you ever heard of The Secret? Come to any counselling center and they will ask you if you have read or watched this. Read any self-help book and you will encounter the same concept over and over again. So what is The Secret? Simply put, The Secret talks about the Law of Attraction. The more you think about about something, the more you are attracting the universe for it to come true. It teaches us that we create our lives, with every thought every minute of every day. Think positive! Speak words of love. Do acts of kindness. But why are these so hard to do?



The Secret is a 2006 documentary film consisting of interviews testifying that everything one wants or needs can be satisfied by believing in an outcome, repeatedly thinking about the outcome, and maintaining positive emotional states to "attract" that outcome. It presents the Law of Attraction, a principle that suggests feelings and thoughts can attract events, feelings, and experiences, from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs. Interviewed in the film are experts and authors in the fields of Quantum Physics, psychology, metaphysics, coaching, theology, philosophy, finance, feng shui, medicine, and personal development, who are referred to as "secret teachers". The authors of The Secret (book) cite the New Thought movement in the late 18th century as the historical basis for their ideas.


WELLNESS ON THE SURFACE


As we are in a very fast-paced environment, stress levels in everyday life has increased. Wellness has been the trend these days and so a lot of spas, gyms, aesthetic centers and fitness coffee shops have been put up. Also, the curiosity of things beyond this earth have increased and so life coaches have also flourished. Wellness now isn't defined as just something aesthetic or physical, even therapy and meditation are now part of it. People who study further into mind and spirit wellness delve deeper in finding ways on how to create techniques to improve people's lives.

Most of the time, people just take a few hours to sweat in the gym or relax in a massage. Then after awhile, they go back to their own lives --- their own ways, their own means. Then, they get stressed again. Go back to the spa or gym and then go back again their normal lives. It's like a never-ending cycle wherein wellness is used to alleviate stress in just a few hours. Wellness isn't a hobby that you will just do in your free time, it should embody the way you live, as it is a lifestyle.


WHAT IS WELLNESS?

Given the above clarification, wellness indeed is a broad word to define. According to Charles B. Corbin of Arizona State University, “Wellness is a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of well-being.”

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence.

• Process means that improvement is always possible.

• Aware means that we are continuously seeking more information about how we can improve. 

• Choices means that we consider a variety of options and select those in our best interest. 

• Success is determined by each individual to be their collection of life accomplishments. 

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/ 

DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

1. Social wellness is having positive interactions with and enjoying being with others. It is having comfort and ease during work and leisure situations and communicating feelings and needs to others. It involves developing and building close friendships and intimacy, practicing empathy and effective listening, caring for others and for the common good, and allowing others to care for you. It is recognizing the need for leisure and recreation and budgeting time for those activities.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/social-wellness.html

2. Occupational wellness is related to one's attitude about one's work.  Traveling a path toward your occupational wellness, you'll contribute your unique gifts, skills and talents to work that is personally meaningful and rewarding. You'll convey your values through your involvement in both paid and unpaid volunteer activities that are gratifying for you. You'll know when you're on the correct path for career wellness, when your work and hobbies become exciting.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/occupational-wellness.html

3. Spiritual wellness is seeking meaning and purpose in human existence. It includes the development of a deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of life and natural forces that exist in the universe.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/spiritual-wellness.html

4. Physical wellness encourages cardiovascular flexibility and strength and also encourages regular, physical activity. Physical development encourages knowledge about food and nutrition and discourages the use of tobacco, drugs and excessive alcohol consumption. Physical Wellness encourages consumption and activities which contribute to high level wellness, including medical self-care and appropriate use of the medical system.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/physical-wellness.html

5. Intellectual Wellness encourages creative, stimulating mental activities. An intellectually well person uses the resources available to expand one's knowledge in improved skills along with expanding potential for sharing with others.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/intellectual-wellness.html

6. Emotional wellness emphasizes an awareness and acceptance of one's feelings, which includes the degree to which one feels positive and enthusiastic about oneself and life. It includes the capacity to manage one's feelings and related behaviors including the realistic assessment of one's limitations, development of autonomy, and ability to cope effectively with stress. The emotionally well person maintains satisfying relationships with others.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/emotional-wellness.html

7. Environmental wellness respect for others living in our environment is just as necessary as respect for the physical environment itself.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/environmental-wellness.html

8. Financial wellness is having an understanding of your financial situation and taking care of it in such a way that you are prepared for financial changes. Maintaining that balance consists of being comfortable with where your money comes from and where it is going.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/financial-wellness.html

9.  Mental wellness highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life's inevitable challenges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health

10. Medical wellness is an approach to delivering health care that considers multiple influences on a person's health and consequently multiple modalities for treating and preventing disease as well as promoting optimal well-being.

http://www.definitionofwellness.com/dimensions-of-wellness/medical-wellness.html

WELLNESS IS A WAY OF LIFE

Although The Secret is out, it is still a challenge to all wellness practitioners to keep it all balanced in their lives. The Law of Attraction, pertained to as The Secret, is nothing but a principle. Its application still depends on us. We don't just exercise and slim down right away. We don't just get a massage and feel good right away. We don't just meditate and suddenly everything works out fine. Wellness is something we work on everyday. It is something we apply to ourselves, to what we do, to others and to our surroundings. The deeper secret than Law of Attraction is one's initiative and motivation to start the change within, to accept what happened in the past and to move on from its chains now. Although how to do it has been revealed, still the secret of why and when we should do it remains as it is something we have unique in all of us and only we can know as we examine ourselves from within.

Again, each person is unique. There is no format on the way to total wellness. What is made available to us right now are just the different ways in which we can excel in the different dimensions of wellness. Join a club or an organization to enhance social wellness. Get involved for a cause and don't give up on your dream job for occupational wellness. Start to meditate and learn your way through spiritual wellness. Run in a marathon or enroll in a gym to improve physical wellness. Take a masteral degree to enhance your intellectual wellness.   Give yourself a chance to be in a relationship and experience emotional wellness. Care for your surroundings and foster environmental wellness. Learn the value of money and be prosperous with financial wellness. Shift to the artist in you and enrich your mental wellness. Take care of your body and check regularly with your medical wellness. Another challenge for us is to make a consistent and conscious effort to balance these dimensions of wellness everyday. Remember we all run busy lives, so we might just find it convenient to bail out on all these just because we don't have the time. As long as we live, we will be facing this challenge. Yet, to enjoy the fullness of life, we have to imbibe this daily struggle to reach total wellness.



SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_(2006_film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Attraction#Criticism
http://www.definitionofwellness.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health

Photos from:

http://ideasofindian.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-secret-of-red-shirt-and-brown-pants.html
http://www.definitionofwellness.com/
http://www.maistra.com/Highlights/Special_Offer/Wellness
http://hlswellness.com/
http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/pes/dats/wellness/Pages/index.aspx