Medical advances can make sure we live longer, but that doesn’t translate into health or prospering. The keyword here is prosper and prospering by definition is about going beyond just getting by. To prosper is to thrive and flourish.

It all depends on your level of consciousness surrounding health and healing. What are your expectations and what do you want to achieve?

Whole health consciousness is not a new concept. It has been part of the greatest civilizations, but has been pushed aside, pulled apart into tiny pieces and considered foolish or irrational. What isn’t initially perceived as functional is replaced by a shiny new concept of a medical or scientific model. These models are mechanical, almost industrial. They treat us like we are machines out of a factory, our fate and function preset.

Often we use our mechanical mind and intellect to ignore what we feel, discredit and disconnect. We are indifferent to what we are experiencing and what is most precious.

Using this standardized model puts us in a situation where there is no freedom, no choice, no flexibility, and no connection. This model could bring the human race to the brink of extinction.

“…administering medicine to diseases that have already developed is like trying to suppress revolts that have already developed and is comparable to the behavior of those persons who begin to dig a well after they have become thirsty.”

– The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Chinese Medicine (475–221 BC)

There is a common belief that states, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This is the mantra of a “broken and fix” model that dominates in Western culture. From this perspective, you might think “I’m healthy, I exercise and eat right…there’s nothing to fix.” From this perspective, we don’t expect enough from our health. Temperature 98.6°F, BP 130/70, high cholesterol, the “norm”. We have been trained to accept mediocre, the middle of the curve, tolerating and putting up with the little aches and pains, suffer and soldier on, to deal with pain until it becomes unbearable.

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How can we prosper when we deem it okay to get by on the minimum amount of sleep, to function and to stretch our resources and capacity to the breaking point?

Thriving and prospering is not done in pieces. It comes from looking at your health in a larger, all-encompassing way, through a whole health consciousness. ALL OF IT.

I find that most of my first time clients come in looking to acupuncture only because they have exhausted all other strategies, and feel like the only other option is surgery. They are caught in a miserable cycle of pain.

Pain is often the only way our bodies can get our attention, asking us to take action, to pay attention, to deal with our ailments.

I also see a lot of patients coming in to solve a specific problem, so they can go right back to their normal routines and do exactly what caused the problem in the first place.

Whole health consciousness is about addressing the root cause of illness and consciously taking the steps to heal and create balance. This is dynamic balance. Whole health consciousness is about finding this balance through consistent, focused effort.

The ancient practice of acupuncture works to establish this balance starting at the deepest levels of healing. It taps into the nervous system, shifts brain chemistry and can bring forward the innate healing powers that lie within us.

We can break this process down into three main levels:

1st level — Curing an illness.

This is very much a western medical model, a surface model, a band-aid model.

2nd level — Prevention.

Prevention promotes longevity, deals with the root causes of illness and pain, and enables you to function at your highest potential.

3rd level — Longevity for a long and healthy life.

To connect with and find meaningful fulfillment in this world, have relationships and fulfill your life’s purpose.

Acupuncture is a powerful source and can be the key to a prosperous life. The kind of life the Vulcans (and practitioners of Chinese Medicine) have been teaching us for years.

When we have a long, healthy and prosperous life we experience greater states of wellness.

This is the beginning of our spiritual (r)evolution.

Originally published at medium.com