Holistic health, body, mind, heart, soul
It seems appropriate that this post is being published on 9/11. For me one of the lessons I took away from that horrible day 11 years ago was that we can never know when our time is going to come. And to take my life and live it, challenging myself constantly not wasting a day or even a minute. This is another step on that journey.
A year ago I made three promises to myself.
Start this blog
I began this blog on September 1st, a year ago. Since that time, I’ve published 87 articles. Not super prolific, but this is a side job and it has to be sandwiched in with my day job, food preservation and regular life.
Begin losing weight
After some issues with breaking a toe and then spraining an ankle (different feet), and then having a rough time figuring out what worked for me, I’m pleased to say that I’m 1/3 of the way to my weight loss goal and while progress is slow at times, I’m going along a path that is working and will continue to work. I don’t have an end date in mind, but I’m hoping to have all my weight lost within the next year.
And One More Promise
I made one last promise to myself last year. It was that in a years time, I would begin working towards a degree in Holistic Health. And today I’m proud to admit that I’ve taken the first step. I’ve enrolled in a Bachelor’s Degree in Holistic Health through the Global College of Natural Medicine.
I did a lot of research this year leading up to it. I decided early on that I needed an online course that was holistic in nature and affordable.
I have a day job that I’m good at and that supports me and my lifestyle. Most colleges that offer holistic health degrees aren’t in my area and I don’t want to quit my job. I’m also not great on the idea of going to night school since my working hours start at 6am. So an on-line course where I can have some flexibility to do what I am going to do is a must.
I also don’t want to take out student loans. A degree in this is to help support me after I retire, not to rack up more debt in student loans (I’ve been lucky in that I don’t have any student loans, never have and didn’t want to start now). I’m lucky in that I have a small inheritance and I decided to devote a portion of that inheritance to this education.
I found courses that ranged from $1,500 to $66,000. Obviously the ones in the high range were out (see I don’t want to go into debt for this degree above).
Standard Nutrition degrees focuses on macro and micro nutrients. But it doesn’t focus on the whole person. A holistic health degree will enable me to learn about the whole person, supporting health via nutrition, herbs and mind/spirit.
I also decided to go for a holistic degree specifically because I don’t agree with everything that the American Dietetics Association (which is the credentialing arm for most standard nutrition degrees) is putting out there. Their annual conference is now regularly sponsored by processed food companies who then give talks titled, “A Fresh Look at Processed Foods“. Even though the ADA is attempting to shut down anyone who tries to provide alternative nutrition information, I still think its important to go for a degree in things I consider important. I don’t want to be a registered nutritionist, if that means trying to get people to eat GMOs and processed foods. Besides, I’d probably argue with the professors so much that I’d end up being flunked out.
And that’s not to say that I’ll most likely agree with everything at GCNM either. I’ve had a look at the online forums since enrolling and I’ve seen people disparage dairy products and meats. But I think I can add my voice there and bring in my opinions (with facts to back them up) and at least be heard.
Out of all the online degrees I looked at, the description of the courses sounds the most rigorous. Over the time in this program I’ll be studying herbs and making my own herbal remedies. I’ll be doing case studies of people and making recommendations to them (as well as submitting those to my teachers). I’ll be studying anatomy and physiology, chemistry and statistics. I’ll be writing essays, and thesis’. This is not going to be a walk in the park, and that’s what I want. Something that will challenge me, that will add to the body of my knowledge. In my research, the biggest complaint was having to wait til the end of your course to submit all coursework and then having to wait until its accepted. I’m patient, I don’t have an issue with submitting. At least I can do it online via pdf’s.
The more I know, the more I can help both myself, as well as others. I plan on using this blog in the pursuit of this degree, either to impart things I agree with, or to work through things I disagree with (along with correlating data and informational links).
I’m actually on vacation this week, so I plan on starting the work on this degree after I return. I already have all the books and materials for the entire course and it’s really hard not to start. (19 Binders, 26 printed books, 3 audio books and 3 videos)
As of now I’ve kept all three of my promises that I made last year, and I promise myself that on September 18th, I’ll begin.
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Best of luck to you on your newest journey! And well I know it takes much more than Luck! I admire you for doing this .
Thank you! Its not going to be easy, but I’ve found that accomplishing hard things means so much more.