In my work with men, I have found that there is one thing which is often overlooked, neglected and misunderstood. And although the process of my work addresses more than one level of the inner being, I have always been astonished at the fact that there seems to be one aspect which always, without exception, needs special attention and a brand-new approach.
Unsurprisingly, it is that very thing which inevitably turns out to be a key for better health, in mind, body and spirit. That thing is emotion. Emotion, I have found, although being something we like to talk about today (especially when we encourage men to ‘open up’ and be ‘vulnerable’ — a good thing in itself, I think) is something that we still haven’t got a very good understanding of.
We tend to think of emotional health as something that helps us connect to ourselves and others in a positive way, but we rarely stop to think about the deeper realities which I think we all need to engage with, in order to gain the ability to be healthy in an all-encompassing, holistic way.
The truth is that there are reasons why some of us are healthier than others. There are reasons why some of us function better, in mind, soul, and body. There are reasons why some of us find it easier to improve ourselves while others struggle and fail.
Our emotions, and the life-long history of our relationship with them, have a role to play in our health, personality, physical fitness, appearance, relationships, finances, and indeed, our very calling and destiny. I fully realise that this bold statement might be shocking to some of you; but I implore you to stay with me here, and be willing to trust me as I delve deeper into emotions, their impact on us, and the history which has shaped our view of them, to the point of our inability to recognise their significance and application into our daily life and being. I am not planning to defend my claim about the role of emotions in one’s life; the data — medical, psychological, and experiential — exists, of course, and I think is more than able to prove my point. But another debate is the last thing we need when it comes to health.
Unlike what the world would have us believe, information is not the most important thing to being a fully-functioning human being — after all, we all have the information needed in order to live well and be healthy: but how is that knowledge working for us? We all know which foods are good for us and which are bad. We all know that movement and exercise can make everyone healthier, and that the lack of it works in the opposite way.
We all know what has the power to make us live well and what destroys us… You see? It's not simply a matter of knowledge. The point I am trying to illustrate here lies beyond this argument: we must first look into the reasons behind our very need to make this argument. We must first look at our own limited views of emotions and their role in our lives, and find out how we have ended up with them. I will repeat my bold statement again: Our emotions, and the life-long history of our relationship with them, have a role to play in our health, personality, physical fitness, appearance, relationships, finances, and indeed, our very calling and destiny.
I do not ask you to blindly believe in this; in fact, that’s the last thing I want. I seek to provoke you to be curious; I seek to show you that our current modern views might be, perhaps, insufficient and unable to fully give us the final, most accurate idea of reality — especially of the reality of emotions, their role and purpose for our lives. There is a reason why we hold the views we do; and it does not take an expert to see that those views are not working for us today. Obesity, stress, depression…our world is rife with afflictions.
Even as poverty and hunger is being speedily, gloriously eliminated from our society, those deeper afflictions are not showing signs of going anywhere, and are in fact, taking deeper and deeper roots in our otherwise comfortable, safe world. And I have good reasons to believe that emotions are the hidden key to combating that. I have very good reasons to think that emotions are the hidden way to health in every possible aspect of life. But in order to engage this reality, one needs to begin with exploration.
One needs to look deeper into where we are in the bigger picture, and where we must go in order to gain the wholeness in mind, soul and body. This is why I have prepared this short report on emotions and health. I hope that you enjoy it and are able to benefit from it in any way that you might need to. While it is by no means an exhaustive work that provides an absolute authority on the subject, it is, I hope, able to provide the reader with a start on the journey of wellness and health. May it serve you well.
George Stoimenov July 2022 Eastbourne, East Sussex, Great Britain George's report can be found here Redeeming Emotions Article
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