There is a lot of talk about mental health, but what is it?
Mental health can be understood as the ability to be open, present, and engaged.
Openness
The ability to be open means acceptance and non-resistance:
In the face of physical sensations, emotions, thoughts and everything happening around us. We can learn to accept all these experiences as they constantly flow through us. We can learn to experience thoughts without being carried away by them.
Presence
The ability to be present builds on the ability to be open:
By starting to notice how our sensory experience coming from the body constantly changes and the ebb and flow of emotions and thoughts, we can gradually anchor ourselves in the experience of the present. In the present moment everything is constantly changing, disappearing, and being replaced by the next experience.
Engagement
The ability to be engaged ties everything together:
Through openness and presence, we can now stand firmly and simply choose which thoughts and emotions we want to act on in the world. This enables a constant movement towards our goals and ideals—even though the journey involves encountering unpleasant emotions and thoughts.
Change is the Only Constant
The three abilities can be trained and it doesn’t have to take very long either. The brain is plastic, malleable, which means that a little training every day can produce great results in weeks and months. If we don’t change consciously, we do so unconsciously. Often this means we stagnate and become more rigid, but we’re still changing. What you want is change to be a somewhat conscious process, in alignment with your true ideal.
It would be a great honor for me to help you overcome any internal struggles you might have. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
With love,
Thomas
