Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #14: Focus on improving yourself

It's been a long time since my last post. A lot has happened and I learnt so much. I hope to share with you what I have learnt.

The most rejuvenating thing that happened to me was that I started learning golf. I used to play volleyball twice a week until I bruised my hand badly. While resting from the injury, I realised that rigorous daily exercise is fuel for vitality. When we exercise, we learn to focus on the game and co-ordinate our minds and bodies.

Unlike other leisurely activities such as swimming, golf requires complete focus. It was not possible to think of any other thoughts while preparing a swing. In the beginning, it is just you and a still, white ball. Simply preparing yourself well is the biggest challenge of all.

So it is with life. Instead of comparing ourselves with other people, focus on improving yourself without harming others. In this way, each of us can achieve spirituality and good health.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #13: What is love?

How do we know if a friend is just a companion or someone we truly love? If we first define love, we can use our definition as a starting point to knowing the truth in our relationships.

What is love? This is a question to think about. There is no right or wrong answer. Each of us is unique and our experiences will lead us to define love differently. However, to be useful as a guide post in life, our definition of love should be concise.

Can you complete the following sentence using 5 words?

Love is ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ .

You may have to try many times before you arrive at your answer. Each time a potential definition arises, test it by asking if it accurately describes the love that has been clearly demonstrated by the people that you can always depend on and are closest to, e.g. your mother, best friend, sibling or pet?

If we can define love for ourself, we will be more at peace in the way we handle our relationships, because we know the extent that it has developed and can better estimate its potential.

When we cannot decide whether to admit someone into our special circle of 'loved ones', we can start by asking if the relationship falls under our definition of love.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #12: Music

The only thing that can send a shiver down the spine without fear is good music. Most of us would know this universal language. It speaks to us in a way we cannot explain. It is thus important for our well-being to listen to good music.

Like our choice of food, our preference for music varies with our tastes. I may like jazz while you prefer pop. Yet like diet, we should be discerning in the music we fill our minds with. It is more uplifting to listen to clear compositions and positive lyrics than to be drown in noise and depressing verses.

If you have the opportunity to do so, learn a musical instrument. It adds a unique touch to our personalities and gives us a means to express ourselves where words fail us. Just singing in the shower can also help to rejuvenate our cluttered minds and inject timeless beauty into our lives.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #11: Taking photos

Memories are reinforced by photographs. Without photographs, we may never remember everything that happened to us. However, people often focus on how they appear in the photographs and forget that there are other things that are worthy of being captured.

Taking photographs not of ourselves, but of details, surroundings and other faces, is a good way to broaden our perspective of life. As we train our eyes to look for beauty in everything beyond our image, we begin to appreciate the time and place that we live in.

We do not need to have special talent to create happy memories for ourselves though photographs. We only need to truly open our eyes and engage in new experiences and places that will help us grow our photo album. This may be as simple as going to a new cafe with friends or taking a stroll in a park that you have never visited. In the company of a simple camera, we also learn to spend time alone and appreciate our unique perspective of this world.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #10: Poise

A costume designer once said that an actor who is new to a role needs only to put on his costume and everything will fall into place. In a way, we are all actors playing different roles at different times of our lives. So it is important to present ourselves in a positive way so that we can perform effectively.

Dress in comfort. This takes practice. It takes skill and discipline to choose pretty apparel or footwear that do not also hurt our health e.g. choosing high heels that damage the back, or body-hugging clothes that are made of synthetic materials that do not allow the skin to breathe.

Comfortable clothes, however, only look smart on someone if the clothes are clean and well-pressed and more important, the person has a good posture. Here are 3 basic steps to developing good posture:

1. Sit straight (check with your hand that your lower back flat).

2. Stand upright (an easy way to do this is to gently place your middle fingers on the side of your thigh where the hemp of a garment would usually run).

3. Walk in a balanced way (a moderate swing of the arms can be achieved by having your thumb touch your first finger while you are walking).

Dressing smartly will make us act in a more confident and positive way.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #9: Be your own person

As children growing up, we often look to our parents for answers. When the time comes for us to choose our paths in life, we subconsciously recall our parents' lives and values.

Although we can learn a lot from our parents' experiences, the truth is that one day, they too will pass on. In choosing the path to take, we must be ready to walk down that path on our own. We can only have the strength to move on in our chosen directions if we started out to be our own persons.

We must give ourselves a chance to lead the life that we know is best for our health and well-being. We are each unique and valuable in our own ways. What has worked for someone else may not work for you. Listen to your heart. It will tell you the real answer.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #8: Buying time

Have you looked back in a week and felt like a month has passed? Often this feeling comes when we are starting out in something or traveling somewhere for the first time.

Compare a Wednesday filled with pure work and a Saturday that is packed with many new experiences. It is likely that our memory of that Saturday could seem like a week while the Wednesday is just an ever forgettable work day.

When routine and datelines pile up and time is in danger of flying by all too quickly, we can "buy time" by making an effort to do new things. e.g. going to a different cafe, learning a new song or making a new friend. As we open up to new spaces and faces, our time grows and we learn how rich each of our little world can be.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #7: And this too shall pass

An Eastern monarch once commissioned his wise men to think of a sentence which would be true and appropriate in all times and situations.

The wise men presented the Eastern monarch with the words:

"And this, too, shall pass away."

That is the tale that Abraham Lincoln made famous in his speech to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society in 1859.


When we encounter setbacks, uttering the words, "And this too shall pass" is a good way to pause and put the moment of unhappiness in perspective. By reminding ourselves that life is constantly changing, we see light in the dark.

Filling an overwhelmed mind with the thought of "And this too shall pass" can also help restore our inner peace. We begin to accept that many things lie in our path but as we pick them up one by one, the path will become clearer.


Conversely, in times of glory, the phrase, "And this too shall pass" is a humbling reminder that success is only a moment of truth-- once, we had passed where a lucky star had shone. Yet having come so far, we can only go further.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #6: Grow

Have you ever experienced doing things that make you ask, "Why am I doing this?" The task is probably something that is part of your responsibilities as an adult, but the child in us wishes to play and not work. To restore our spirituality and health at such moments, we simply have to think of one thing: GROW.

When we have to write a report, we are growing a train of thoughts.

When we have to talk to people we dislike, we are growing our patience.

When relationships wither, there will come the right time and conditions for them to blossom again.

We are a part of Nature, and when we think of Nature, the first thing that comes to mind is usually plants. So the purpose of our lives is similar to that of plants, which is simply to grow.

If we can plan our time everday around the thought of growing, we will be constantly promoting our spirituality and health. In considering what to eat or wear, we can think of how we can help our bodies grow healthily and comfortably. In deciding whether to start or end an experience, we can also think of whether it nurtures us or drains us of our energy.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #5: Art of drinking water

Our bodies are 70% made up of water. To maintain our spiritual and bodily health, it is therefore necessary to practise the art of drinking water.

In order for the water that we drink to be absorbed properly by our body, try to drink half a glass of water over at least 30 minutes, 4 times a day. A good time to do this is in between meals.

Feel every sip of water as it goes down your throat and swirls in your guts. Be thankful for water and the life that it brings to everything on Earth. When you are angry or frustrated, drinking water in this way can cool you down and keep you in perspective of the larger scheme of things. It is a way of 'pausing', which is mentioned in previous posts.

Drinking water gives your skin a glow and keeps your mind alert as oxygen needs to be dissolved first in water before it can is carried to the brain cells. Periodic drinking of water instead of snacking is also a good way of staying fit.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #4: Positive action words

Have you experienced this before? Say you are thinking, "I don't want to meet Sally," and you end up meeting Sally.

This is because the brain recognises the action and target "meet-Sally" and not the words, "I don't want".

So to attract positive things that promote health and spirituality, practise constructing your thoughts with positive action words. For example, if you are afraid of losing your things, look at your things and say, "Stay with me" instead of thinking, "I hope I won't lose you".

To be able to re-construct our thoughts and speech in positive ways, we could take a deep breath to clear our minds. This goes back to our very first spirituality and health promotion behaviour: Pause.

Spirituality and Health Promotion Behaviors #3: Eating habits

One of the key to unlocking good health in each of us is through cultivating good eating habits. We are what, how, when, where and why we eat. There is no short cut to spirituality and health promotion. Good habits need time to be instilled (according to some studies, at least 6 weeks).

Our eating habits can be improved. In general, it is important to remember that eating is to nourish our souls. Hence, we should be mindful when eating.

Here are some key health promoting eating habits:

What? Eat foods that are nutritious and eat moderate portions.

When? Eat early, before 7pm.

How? Eat slowly (try chewing each mouthful at least 30 times and listening to the sound the food makes in your mouth) and without distractions such as TV or books.

Where? Eat while seated at dining table instead of standing or on the run.

Why? Understand that we eat to live, not live to eat.