A spiritual base is an absolute essential, not only in the role of healing, but in daily living. Any physical disease can affect a patient's emotional or spiritual state, and any emotional or spiritual upset can bring about physiological change. Since the mind and body are "housed" in the physical body, it is difficult to define them as separate parts.
When confronted with serious illness and possible death, every individual needs to discover and find another source of strength and inspiration. There is a need to search for a higher level and transcend the materialism that surrounds us.
The most important and unique aspect
about folk high schools
is their concentration on and recognition
of the intellectual and spiritual side
of the individual's life.
Thus the recent surge in wholistic medicine and the desire for the individual to be treated as a whole and entire person — in body, mind and spirit. The existence of a spirit within the individual is an integral part of one's identity and entity. Additionally, there is a surging interest in activities that emphasize the spiritual and help the individual uncover the deep recesses of his inner workings.
Reconnect with your Inner Self
The search for one's inner core is alive in some very clear arenas. One of the most striking is the concept of the Folk High School, which is found in certain Western European countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark.
These folk high schools give the individual an enormous opportunity to re-connect with their inner self by teaching them self-reliance, appreciation of their core values and innermost feelings. The school reaches out to individuals who are searching for the multitude of the dimensions of their inner spirit.
The typical subjects covered in folk high schools include: literature, history, art, and community affairs. What the school helps students realize is the capacity to "think through" the ideas of each subject. There are long hours of discussions where the interface of ideas and interchange of feelings around the specific subject is encouraged. Mutual influence is the chief objective.
The most important and unique aspect about folk high schools is their concentration on and recognition of the intellectual and spiritual side of the individual's life. There is a great deal of emphasis on the development of this aspect of the self. It is the keen recognition that what makes one really happy and satisfied with life is not the world's materialistic components. It is hope, a satisfaction with one's inner core, and faith, that keeps one going.
This dedication to life and living encompasses the indefinable concept — spirituality — a concept that is beyond the concrete. It is part of human development where there is an exchange of thoughts and a sharing of one's innermost feelings.
Strengthen Your Nature
The ability to abstract and successfully dig into the depths of one's inner core directly leads to a better understanding of one's self in relation to the environment and surroundings. One learns how this interplays and interacts with all of life's forces.
As one evolves and ages, one grows and learns how to accept. The quest for the spiritual side of oneself means an increasing awareness of the importance of acquiring self-respect. Curiosity continues to grow. Remember this: as an elderly individual it can be far too easy to lean back and play the part of the passive receiver. Meaningful activities prevent this. The activity offered in places like the folk high school creates a mutual interdependence and reinforces one's belief in the ability to accomplish something of value.
Engagement in life means making new friends and finding new interests, while simultaneously overcoming illnesses. Your appetite for life and ability to cooperate strengthens.
By attending a folk high school, one can identify new talents and a willingness to interact — even with younger generations. What results from the school is its ability to inspire, organize, encourage, and ensure that everybody is involved in spite of any physical or mental handicaps. There are several factors that are essential in whether an elderly individual participates in activities like the folk high school. These include:
1. The desire to achieve meaningful relationships and have an influence on the decision making process.
2. The desire to become engaged in challenges.
3. A confidence and faith in the development of fellowship as a mechanism to achieve an inner state of contentment.
4. A commitment to personal development which includes physical, mental, social, and spiritual responsibility.
5. An extended consciousness of choices and capabilities.
Becoming Alive
Those who attend the folk high schools in the Netherlands and Denmark are more alert and aware of things going on around them. They are able to make numerous opportunities work for them and are encouraged to enlighten themselves.
A mutual interfacing and interdependence with others means the individuals find new interests, overcome their disabilities, and increase their activities. Instead of being dependent and helpless, the individual spirit and desire to cooperate is strengthened.
Fellowship on equal terms becomes another one of our important aims as an individual ages. As the elderly individual faces his or her mortality, the sole aim is dedicated to life and living. The search for one's inner core, the quest for that indefinable concept, "spirituality" — the state of human contact on a plane above the physical and the ability to exchange thoughts and share feelings with others — replaces the ambition to accumulate huge piles of wealth and accumulate all kinds of inanimate objects. Teachings, like the folk high school professes, seek to strengthen this aspect of human nature.
It leads to a deeper understanding of ourselves in relation to our surroundings. It is a teaching that results in more questions than answers and helps us to achieve this ability to abstract, as opposed to direct, result-oriented teaching that increases that which is concrete.
Recommended book:
Dr. Amarnick's Mind Over Matter Pain Relief Program
by Claude Amarnick.
Click here for more info or to order this book
About The Author
Claude Amarnick is a doctor of osteopathic medicine, an author, and is an expert in the field of chronic pain. He can be reached at 3590 South Ocean Blvd., #910, Palm Beach, FL 33480.
