Until now, the SeekWellness vision of wellness has mostly been about how we, as individuals, can become and stay well. Largely influenced by Don Ardell, PhD, well-known writer, lecturer and wellness promoter, our definition of wellness comes from him. According to Don, “Wellness is first and foremost a choice to assume responsibility for the quality of your life. It begins with a conscious decision to shape a healthy lifestyle. Wellness is a mindset, a predisposition to adopt a series of key principles in varied life areas that lead to high levels of well-being and life satisfaction.”

Don also talks about REAL (Reason, Exuberance, And Liberty) wellness, which includes:

• High self-esteem and a positive outlook
• Strong foundation philosophy and a sense of purpose
• Strong sense of personal responsibility
• Good sense of humor and plenty of fun in life
• Concern for others and a respect for the environment
• Conscious commitment to excellence
• Sense of balance and an integrated lifestyle
• Freedom from negative or health-inhibiting behaviors
• Capacity to cope with whatever life presents and willingness to learn
• Grounded in reality
• Highly conditioned and physically fit
• Capacity to love and an ability to nurture
• Capacity to manage life’s demands and communicate effectively.

Our goal has always been to educate and encourage people toward REAL wellness. What’s different now is our realization that even if we work to become well ourselves, it’s hard to stay well when we look around and see so many negative behaviours and outcomes around us. We don’t want to sound negative but there’s obesity, war, a sinking economy, George Bush, a sick environment, bankrupt communities, broken families and all the rest. If we are going to help individuals, we need to find ways to help families, companies, and communities, too. If we can do all of that, we’ll also be helping to heal the Earth. Based on the above list, it’s part of our responsibility.

For starters, we’ve decided to organize some of our content and products into five levels or spheres of wellness – individual, family, worksite, community and global – to help people pursue wellness at any level or sphere. If you decide to learn about or work on wellness projects, you’ll be able to search on “community wellness” or “worksite wellness”, for example, and pull up a list of articles and products that might be useful. Look for these icons to begin appearing on our pages.

Please let us know how you feel about our mission and what kinds of information or products you would find useful in your efforts.

Here are some resources to help you get started:

Don’s Essays (and the rest of our Wellness Center)

• what is wellness?
• sustaining a wellness lifestyle -- tips for success
• elements of rational social wellness

Organizations

• National Wellness Institute
  

Websites

• Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforing the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services.
• Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products.
  

Products

• Don’s newest book - Aging Beyond Belief
• Don’s Newsletter
• Seekwellnessstore - Wellness Category

Learn more about our other Wellness Spheres