In American culture, we are bombarded daily with the marketing of innumerable products, television shows, and even people. These are pleasures that can be isolated, packaged, purchased and consumed at will in order to fulfill our every desire. Car dealers promise the pleasure of status; soft drink companies promise happy memories with good friends; make-up manufacturers promise sexual desirability. All of these promised results (if they ever happen) may certainly be pleasurable, but they are also often fleeting and misleading. By habitually satiating ourselves with purchased pleasures, we miss out on the fulfillment of other, more life-affirming pleasures. Pleasure begins with desire—one of the most powerful forces in human nature.

Here’s what you need to know first.
What does “holistic health” mean anyway? Well, if you do a quick Google search, you’ll find definitions such as a wellness approach that addresses the body, mind and spirit or the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of an individual, or a term used to describe therapies that attempt to treat the patient as a whole person.
Ok, then.
What does that mean??!! And what does it mean when alternative practitioners advertise that they are practicing holistic health? What can you expect? Juju and …

Oh man, when did holistic health advertising get taken over by former car salesmen? Puulease. I’m here to break the news that you will still have issues after starting to pay attention to that which you may have been avoiding (and at first, those problems may suddenly seem ten-fold).

They do not magically disappear. And you will never, EVER reach perfect health. Because guess what? It’s an enigma.

I’m trying to save you a lot of pain and heartache here, because I long believed there was some pie in the sky that I would eventually obtain by living to the supposed holistic-T, and instead I got smacked around with a little reality.

Here’s my claim up front: working with your dreams (that you have while sleeping) will revitalize your career, rekindle your love life, and unleash your creativity so you can go after what you really want in life.
I admit it’s an arrogant claim that paying attention to those nightly dreams can revitalize every aspect of our lives. But it’s true. Dreaming is a window into our most naked needs, desires, fears and aspirations. So if you are looking for a quick path to invigorate your unique skills and passions, tending your dreams is an easy first step.

A couple of months before my Australian and European adventures during the summer and fall of 2007, I had decided on a whim to participate in a retreat at Amma’s ashram in San Ramon, CA.

For those who don’t know Amma, she is known as the “hugging guru,” and Indian woman who travels all over the world and gives everyone who comes to her ashram during her open visits a heartfelt hug.

The feeling a person gets from her hug is almost impossible to explain; it might be likened to how people who had their feet washed by Jesus must have felt, or those who heard dharma directly from Buddha’s mouth.

Alright, so there is no possible way that you are ever giving up your double-shot non-fat mocha latte, no whip, unless of course ALL the Starbucks go out of business. You’ll eat more greens as long as you can have some Burger King fries every once in a while. You understand that maybe Snickers is not the best snack in the world, but you still need chocolate (duh). And since they actually ended up making a Sex and the City movie, those chilled pink-drinks found their way back into your heart. Welcome to a little area I like to call Damage Control. The secret to good health is not eating perfectly all of the time.

So most everyone has heard about yoga and its benefits by now. Same with Pilates; possibly Tai Chi. Ok, a little fuzzy on the benefits. And possibly don’t really know what is actually involved with any of them. But definitely have read an article or two about yoga. Or saw the cover of a magazine that talked about it. Heard some friends talking about a magazine with a cover that talked about it. Definitely that–at least.
Not to worry, you can pull your head out from under the couch of which you have buried it in shame for not really understanding all of this alternative mumbo jumbo. It is OK. Smile. Breathe. That’s all it really comes back to anyway, the breath. You can do that, I promise. Can’t get too far into your day without it.