If you are like a lot of us, we find it easiest to overlook one part of the three areas of our health: mind, body and spirit. For most people which of those three would you guess most often takes the back seat in maintaining a healthy, well-rounded life? It’s the spiritual life that is most often overlooked, of course.

But you say, “I run three miles twice a week, I eat the right foods, I watch my intake of alcohol and other substances. I listen to a Wayne Dyer tape once in awhile. I think I’m in pretty good shape.”

Okay, let’s put it to a test by asking your closest non-judgmental friend, “You know I’m trying to work on all areas of my mind, body and spirit, so do you think I could use an occasional reality-check with a mental health counselor? And secondly, do you think my spiritual life could use a little tune-up?” A true friend will answer, “Yes,” because all of us could improve our spirit life.

The fashion industry focus on slenderness has duped us all. So most of us are convinced that if we can just keep the old body looking good, and maybe read a spiritual article once in awhile, that’s about all we need to do to maintain a healthy mind-body-spirit.

But the truth is, many of us are dying of self-criticism and are full of blame and guilt. If we’re honest with ourselves, we acknowledge waking up at 3:00 AM and finding ourselves stewing over old hurts that tense up the blood vessels and ultimately damage our organs. We find our mind is in a whirl. We worry about things we can do nothing about (at 3:00 AM). We carry on an argument with a relative that began last Christmas. And we go through all sorts of stuff like that, funny when we stop to look at it the next day. The fact is many of us are hanging on to old resentments. Many of us stopped forgiving ourselves and others, perhaps years ago, and then we wonder why we can’t sleep well at night. Can we imagine for a second that this pollution of our minds is not injurious to our bodies? Don’t believe that for a minute! It all works together. It’s mind-body-spirit... all on the same pillow.

Did you ever try asking your Higher Power for help at 3:00 AM by saying a little prayer of forgiveness of that old situation and then trusting the power of the Universe to actually take it away? Do you believe it’s just a bunch of baloney? It works for millions of people. But not for you, you say? Do you still believe you are “defective,” that God makes mistakes? What other beliefs about yourself do you need to change? Have you considered asking your Higher Power’s help in correcting them?

That’s what I’m talking about when I suggest a tune-up with your counselor, a shot in the arm through a spiritual class, such as A Course in Miracles or a class taught at your church. Try a class at the Buddhist temple. Learn meditation. Healthy food is great. But a healthy spiritual life is essential to personal happiness and inner peace. And isn’t that what you really want – a healthy feeling toward your coworkers, your family and friends. That’s called inner peace. No matter what else is going on in your life, you can fly above it when you have inner peace. 

Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have hundreds of resources you can use to improve your inner peace. Go ahead, jump in the deep end. Sign up this week for some classes at a metaphysical center or a new age church. Read the Calendar in this magazine. Then go to one new event a week for 6 weeks. Try a lecture that sounds a little offbeat; you might love it. Take a class on exotic cooking. When was the last time you walked the beach at Honeymoon Island? Find what interests you by shopping the ads in this magazine. Go out on a limb and visit some different churches and groups. You will probably find a whole new community of peace-loving, fun and healthy people you would be unlikely to meet at Publix.

But how can you start on the road to inner peace right now... today? Try this for a bottom-line beginning: get relaxed, and then imagine the power of love is healing your unforgiveness, your anxiety, your unwillingness to give inner peace a try. It matters not what you call it – Love, God, Universal Power, whatever. Breathe deeply. Think on that healing thought for 5 or 10 minutes. Then later, when you go for a walk, raise your eyes and look for an eagle or an osprey. Look, really look, at the gorgeous sunset and the afterglow in the sky that follows it. Beauty and truth are all around you. Your only task is to get back in touch with that healing power of spirit that all the wise men of the ages have pointed to. Seek it. And you will find it. Tend to your mind, body and spirit and start being the whole person with the inner peace that you really want.

Dave Hunt has been leading A Course in Miracles study groups for 15 years in the Clearwater area. Contact him for further information at (727) 463-5211