How to be healthy, Part 5 of 5

To conclude this 5 part article on 'How to be healthy', we are going to discuss the final level of Abraham Maslow's Hierachy of Human Needs.

In order to be healthy we must visit each of these needs in turn, beginning with the primal needs, or physiological needs, working our way through social interaction, the need for love or belonging, self-esteem, and now finally once those lower level needs are met we move onto self-actualisation, otherwise known as the aesthetic needs.

These aesthetic needs are realised through reaching one's own maximum potential through morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts. There is a very spiritual view to all of these points, however Maslow himself towards the end of his life acknowledged that beyond self-actualisation is actually self-transcendence - the level associated with much more mysticism and insight than any of the other levels.

Within the aesthetic principles of this highest level, and reaching maximum potential, is the very Buddhist/Zen/Taoist philosophy of simply "Being". To simply BE is accepting life as it currently is, being less judgemental, and being present with time where it currently is and not the past, or the future.

It has been said by many teachers that meditation is "the best thing a person can do." Therefore, this is what I will suggest as your exercise for allowing yourself to simply BE - meditation.

Now, before you go running away from this so-called "spiritual" practice, or think that it is way too airy-fary to work, I invite you to take part in 100 days of consistent meditative practice and I guarantee you will feel healthier than ever. You will find that it definitely is the "best thing a person can do".

For those of you who have never meditated before, you can either lie down, sit on the floor, sit in a chair, kneel, stand - you name it! - (There are even many forms of active meditation) and aim for 20-30 minutes of keeping silent with your eyes closed, simply watching your thoughts, not judging them or letting them drift too far, and then bringing your mind onto your breath. Think about your inhalation and exhalation, and that will keep you calm and relaxed.

Deepak Chopra and David Simon of the Chopra Center in California say that they have just one rule when it comes to meditation, "No running, to or from meditation." This way you will take a little bit of peace with you into your day.

Good luck, and please comment with your experiences on BEING healthy.