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By Dr. Gloria Gilbere

A New Exercise For Your Brain

A paradigm is a set of rules and regulations that does two things: 1. establishes or defines boundaries, and 2. tells you how to behave inside the boundaries in order to be successful. – Joel Arthur Barker

Happy 2007! With the holidays behind us, it’s time to shift our focus onto areas of our lives that need improvement and will ultimately establish lasting health and financial benefits. I’m not referring to making a resolution for yet another diet plan, but making a personal commitment to exercise your brain with health-minded ideas.

A shift in view

The world and our lives are in constant flux. One day we’re concerned about finishing high school, the next day graduating from college and advancing within our chosen profession, and the next we’re worried about the aging process and environmental effects.

Many of us dreamt of the career we’ve chosen to fulfill our professional and financial passions. But many more of us end up in careers that fall short of where our real interests lie, or haven’t kept pace with how our interests have evolved. Since we have responsibilities and commitments, we don’t believe we can take the time to further our education that will allow us to make the necessary shift to follow our true passion. In order to make the change, a paradigm shift must occur – a new awareness of how the basic rules for furthering our education are set and how education now operates, so solutions can be made within those boundaries.

Setting your own educational boundaries

If you haven’t considered distance learning, and have a passionate interest in natural health, this is the year to do so. Now, more than ever, you have the opportunity to define your own paradigm shift by: 1. identifying the area of natural health that peaks your interest or fulfills your personal health goals. 2. inquiring about courses available through distance-learning that work with your time frame at the location of your choosing, while continuing your present career or studies.

If you have any doubt about the rapid global rise in interest in natural health principles, consider the following:

Annually, 62 percent of Americans spent $57 billion on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), $30 billion paid out-of-pocket. (2001 statistics).

Annually, 59 percent of Canadians spend over $3.8 billion out-of-pocket annually on CAM modalities. (1997 statistics)

A profound paradigm shift has occurred in the 21st century. The shift is demanding more education based on a proactive consciousness to identify causes of disorders and implement nature-based solutions, rather than accepting the status-quo. The conventional method, of course, is symptom-care which becomes drug-management.

Natural health education is not merely for those of us interested in assisting others in a professional setting. It is also the most profound way of keeping ourselves and our loved ones healthy in an ever-changing toxic world by implementing holistic principles for the mind, body, and spirit.

"You’re not old until you stop learning."

Many of my colleagues have chosen a field of interest that was sparked by a personal illness or as a result of family members’ challenges. Others make the decision to further their educational aspirations through distance-learning after recovering from what I call invisible illnesses – disorders that defy conventional methodologies.

A profession in natural health prepares you for what is truly a career in health-building; balancing and supporting the mind and body so that all parts are working in synchronicity. The conventional health care model is largely based on viewing disease as a disturbed function that can, more often than not, be treated with medication, causing an imbalance within the mind and body.

Distance-learning: what to look for

• Be sure it offers a full-support faculty to complement written materials
• Choose a well-established institution with many years experience in successfully offering distance education.
• Ask for specifics as to numbers of students and graduates.
• Request a graduate referral.

With the number of baby boomers reaching 75 million, considering a career in natural health will not only ensure you have the educational tools to keep you and your family healthy, but also enable you to provide counsel for a large segment of the population seeking natural health professionals.