How to develop Intrinsic Health

[Carl-Richard]

Intrinsic Health is the desire to pursue health primarily for its own sake or its immediate benefits, rather than for some alternative outcome (like increased lifespan, disease prevention etc.). This desire is something that has to be developed, and some of it can be worked on, and some of it is more up to chance (biology, happenstance). This development is something I've discovered within myself and which is a culmination of all my deepest values and intuitions about life. If all of this seems too unrealistic or utopian for you to accept, I'm telling you that it's possible.

 

I will present two main factors that I think contribute to Intrinsic Health (IH) and how implementing both (to the degree that is possible) will lead to highly synergistic effects:

1. Being (foundational factors; the mystical experience).

2. Meaning (practical factors; cognitive, emotional and behavioral patterns).

 

 

First, what is the alternative to Intrinsic Health? I like to think of Intrinsic Health as in many ways the opposite of hedonism. Your sense of pleasure is derived from your most natural baseline state of existence, not some fluctuating level of extreme activation or excitation. The benefit to Intrinsic Health is therefore that it's extremely stable and self-sustaining. It works with its natural bodily functions (homeostasis) rather than against them, and I'll also claim that it is not only beneficial for optimizing functioning, but that it's the very basis for a high-functioning existence.

 

Being

Being is something that is arguably the most crucial aspect to this (at least in my experience), as it lays the foundation for how the immediate benefits of health is experienced on a purely phenomenological level. The ability to investigate your direct experience through feeling, both on an intuitive level and a more bodily level, prior to thought, will allow you to tap into the organic feelings that is produced by healthy food and physical exercise, and it allows you to more readily identify the mechanism of craving unhealthy foods and other behaviors, namely thought itself. In other words, Being both establishes the connection to Intrinsic Health and actively maintains it. However, when it comes to the more practical aspect of maintaining this connection, there are certain so-called vital patterns of cognition, emotion and behavior that are highly beneficial, if not required (some of which can also induce the mystical experience, e.g. a meditation habit), and this is directly tied to the concept of meaning.

 

Meaning

Meaning is at the most fundamental level an expression of goal-oriented behavior. Whether you're an amoeba looking for food, or a monkey displaying aggression, or a human reading a book, it's all fundamentally about the same thing: engaging in behavior that benefits survival. The amoeba's movement through the environment, the monkey's direction of emotional energy towards a target, and the human orienting him or herself through a narrative, are all expressions of meaning, and the definition of a healthy organism is one that is able to engage in this type of meaningful behavior in a successful manner. 
 

An amoeba that isn't able to move in just the right way to accurately locate food will have its health compromised and eventually die. A monkey that is not able to express its emotions in an appropriate manner will likewise have its health and survival compromised, and a human that is not able to ground their life in a higher-order framework of meaning (based on symbolic thought, language and narrative) will also have their health and survival compromised.

 

Cognitive emotion regulation

Like monkeys, humans need adequate cognitive emotion regulation patterns, and you can roughly divide this into two main styles: externalizing and internalizing style. The externalizing style most accurately represents the evolutionary function of emotions, and generally speaking it's therefore the most vital/healthy style (the exception is when it happens at the level of pathology, for example some personality disorders, e.g. parts of Cluster B). Emotions exist to serve a purpose, and it's to direct attention and energy towards some task in the environment (in a meaningful way). Therefore, if you experience an emotion like say anger, what you're supposed to do from a natural standpoint is to act on that emotion, which could be telling somebody that what they did is not OK, or expressing some disagreement, or establishing boundaries.
 

When this is done correctly, the emotion subsides rather quickly and the physiological activation and associated stress and thoughts about the situation will disappear. On the other hand, if you don't do this and instead repress the emotion and pull the energy inwards (internalizing style), you will create endless cycles of mental anguish and physical unwellness, which is generally not healthy. I say "generally" because there are times where internalizing an emotion is socially appropriate. It's rather when it's done compulsively and not in a skillful way, or in a way that is not meaningful, that you will severely compromise your health. Therefore, learning to externalize emotions when that is the appropriate thing to do (and internalizing when that is appropriate) is crucial for establishing a connection to Intrinsic Health. I severely underestimated the importance of this in my life even many years after discovering meditation, and it held me back in so many ways that I can't even begin to tell you about. I therefore cannot stress enough how important this is.

 

Higher-order meaning

The emotional aspect is also tied to navigating higher-order frameworks of meaning, namely daily habits, work ethic, and life purpose. Just like the most basic aspects of life, this aspect needs to have a certain streamlined and less cyclical nature to it for it to have any true effect on your health.
 

When it comes to daily habits, the most foundational, simplest and maybe obvious one is to take notes or make a schedule. Whenever your mind starts bothering you about something you have to do, that is meaning knocking on your door: it has an emotional component that tries to direct attention and energy towards a task, and it even has informational content with instructions on how to do it (the content of the thought itself). This is an amazing technology that you were given by evolution, and the only mistake is to ignore it. The only reason you ignore it is because you don't have a good strategy to deal with it in the moment. Now, I'm saying that the best thing you can do is to write it down. You don't even have to specify "when" or "how" you'll do it (although that is also good): simply by writing it down with the intention that you will do the thing, the job is essentially done. Your mind stops worrying about it. You've eliminated the cyclical patterns of meaningless mental noise, and this is again crucial to maintaining Intrinsic Health. Make notes about whatever your mind thinks is worth spending time reminding you about. It can be anything from shopping ideas, plans for the week, work assignments, creative ideas, life purpose etc.
 

This streamlined thinking should also be applied to your work ethic. If you've decided that you're going to follow a work schedule, your only job is to stick to that schedule. If you don't, your mind will start telling you that you should, and this leads to cyclical mental anguish, which again severs ties to optimal health. If you value your mental clarity, if your value your goals, and if you value your physical well-being, you will avoid cheating on your work ethic at all costs. Same with life purpose. If you don't find a life purpose and your mind keeps bothering you about the fact that your life has no meaning and that you're not moving towards any higher-order goal, then you better start listening to what your mind is telling you. Your mind is really smart and you should listen to it more often. I'm not saying finding a life purpose is easy, but never ever pretend like it's not important for your health. Lack of higher-order meaning is one of the biggest problems that you have to solve if you value your mental and physical health and well-being.

 

Summary and synthesis

To tie this back to Being, having a daily habit like a meditation habit, outsourcing mental activity by writing notes, not terrorizing yourself by cheating on your work schedule, and figuring out a trajectory for your life, directly feeds back into your ability to feel alive, to enjoy having a functioning body that is not aching, to enjoy having a mind that is not cluttered with useless noise and that is able to think amazing things. All of this is intricately tied together into one holistic mesh, which is why your approach to achieving Intrinsic Health should be holistic as well, meaning you will not ignore anything that your conscience tells you to do. Your conscience is the divine spirit that tries to guide you towards ever higher levels of love. Meaning is the way you manifest your conscience in your daily life, and Being is how you experience the fruits of all that.

[Spence94]

Amazing. Well ordered thoughts here man. I really appeciate you taking the time to write and share this. This is such an important topic.

This is where the Game is played.

Burnout and realizing the unconcious by befriending it have been discussed this week. You hit the nail on the head here.

Great analysis.

Thank you.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Spence94

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, Spence94 said:

Amazing. Well ordered thoughts here man. I really appeciate you taking the time to write and share this. This is such an important topic.

This is where the Game is played.

Burnout and realizing the unconcious by befriending it have been discussed this week. You hit the nail on the head here.

Great analysis.

Thank you.

Thank you!  I appreciate the kind words.

I've had problems formulating my thoughts on this for a while, so I decided to wait for an authentic moment of inspiration. Ironically, I ended up writing this as I was coming up on what is most likely a COVID infection . I guess my immune system activating was the final missing piece that enabled me to tap into the core of my message .

[Preety_India]

One excellent way to stay healthy is to not argue with someone who isn't on your level. It's greatly underestimated advice. Today I learned it the harder way. 

 

[Carl-Richard]

On 3.3.2022 at 11:00 AM, Preety_India said:

One excellent way to stay healthy is to not argue with someone who isn't on your level. It's greatly underestimated advice. Today I learned it the harder way. 

Even better advice is don't try to make smart forum comments when you have COVID  (yeah, I actually got it).

 

On 3.3.2022 at 11:00 AM, Preety_India said:

 

Hahaha brilliant conversation. Complete disconnect but still good faith 

[Preety_India]

Just now, Carl-Richard said:

Even better advice is don't try to make smart forum comments when you have COVID  (yeah, I actually got it).

Omg 

[Eph75]

@Carl-Richard

I like it. 

What throws me off a bit is "development" - are you trying to say that development leads to internal health or that development results in a way of being and a way of meaning-making that develops internal health? 

From my perspective there is something limiting being and meaning-making, laying itself over both like a wet blanket that sufficates the emergence of internal health.

Removing or reducing that something is what matters most for "IH". 

It's like driving a car with the handbreak engaged or one foot on the break, causing friction and inhibits forward movement and causes different kind of friction and regular breakdowns minimizing forward movement, or cause regressions (taking the vessel back to the shop for maintenance).

This is what we do, unaware of it being us breaking ourselves out of a smooth ride. 

It's all suppored by your "lens". 

Development defined as the increase of the complexity that serve our ability to create more complex meaning of what is happening in and around us, directly feeds into "M". 

That complexity increase of "M" catalyzes a deeper sense of purpose, and brings awareness of the existence of noise in our "B". 

The fundamental human need to bring clarity, to regulate the "signal-to-noise" level in our being, by amplifying the signal, and reducing the noise, inevitably introduces such self-regulating practices as meditation (resulting in noise reduction) and mindfulness (ability or focus and amplify signal over noise), in one form or another. 

The correlation between increased complexity of the meaning we are able to make for ourselves, and the increase of "relaxed" being allowing to flux and flow with what is rather than resist the currents of the reality we're finding ourselves in, introduces an equilibrium of the pressures we're subjected to, that consitite the very need for and the emergence of an increased "IH". 

As you say, there's a requirement of a certain level of balance which gets defined by the meaning we make, which inevitably define previous elements of being as "problematic" when matched against newly emerging desired outcomes, and the limitation these pose to continued evolution of "self". This forces us, through some discomfort, to address at least the most fundamental flaws that make up that handbreak that prevents not only "IH" but the developmental feedback loop as a whole.

Over time less critical limitations will become more critical and will be self-regulated until such a point the discomforts no longer affects the stability of "IH", and only remain as some awareness of, rather than limitation by. 

This regulation is one of if not the most fundamental characteristic of human beings, part of our survival, and the only thing we really need to do, today, is to let up on our own handbreak, and enjoy the inertia dissolving, and the building up of "developmental movement". 

It's inevitable, but we're too busy fighting it by supporting the resistence for it to happen without great friction.

The most interesting point of this unfolding is when the majority of energy has shifted to be redistributed into feeding back into self-development, rather than to manage the self-created resistance. 

An increase in "IH" can then be seen as the by-product of healthy development. 

In actuality the cross-influence is a significant factor. 

My apologies, I got a bit carried away. 

Love your posts, very inspiring 

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by Eph75

[Carl-Richard]

On 6.3.2022 at 7:06 AM, Eph75 said:

I like it. 

What throws me off a bit is "development" - are you trying to say that development leads to internal health or that development results in a way of being and a way of meaning-making that develops internal health? 

Intrinsic health needs to be developed, and you develop it by enhancing your Being and Meaning. It's really too simple to make an image out of, but I just felt like making it anyway

 

On 6.3.2022 at 7:06 AM, Eph75 said:

My apologies, I got a bit carried away. 

Love your posts, very inspiring 

Np. Thank you very much!  

[Carl-Richard]

I just want to leave this quote here about my development to really underscore the fact that this is indeed possible (and to give more emphasis on the physical health aspect; diet and exercise). I also think this is some of my most important insights which I will continue expanding on in the future, so I won't mind bumping once to see if more people resonate with it.

On 26.2.2022 at 2:46 AM, Carl-Richard said:

On the contrary, eating healthy food, doing heavy exercise and even doing your work on time can be experienced as maximally desirable and beneficial in the immediate short-term. It just depends on your preferences, which can be changed drastically.

I'll use myself as an example: I used to be a full-time stoner back in my late teens; potato chips, pizza, porn and energy drinks 24/7. Then when I discovered meditation and quickly got my first non-dual glimpse, I noticed a couple of days into this new existence that the level of enjoyment I got from eating a pizza had become rather empty. It was such a drastic effect that I'll never forget it. It literally felt empty (they don't call it discovering emptiness for nothing ).

Then after years of integrating this understanding into my life, my approach to food, physical exercise and even work itself has completely inverted. It's based on a shift from preferring impulsive and explosive bursts of indulgence (hedonism) to preferring a stable, subtle and refined state of consciousness. It's not really reducible to the dichotomy of long vs. short term: the pleasurable effects of eating healthy food is felt both immediately in the moment, as well as the hours, days and weeks afterwards. It's both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, short and long-term benefits.

Same with exercise and following work schedule. Exercise for me has become more and more like a perpetual flow state. There is really no struggle or suffering associated with it. Body and mind are completely aligned, everything is working at optimal performance, effort is pleasure. Similarly, doing work on time fulfills an energetic need in the body. Ignoring work poisons the mind with fear, worry and anxiety, which in turn poisons the body. The distractions, the explosive indulgence, is no longer seen to be the primary desire. That isn't to say they're not experienced in some form or another, but no longer in transaction for baseline health, but rather as a way to complete it.

 

[Striving for more]

@Carl-Richard Were you naturally fluid & clear in your expression or how did you develop it? 

I ask this because I am now very conscious of how useful & valuable it is to be a combination of structured, concise, fluid, coherent & persuasive in your communication, in order to take better notes, articulate ideas precisely and explain things to others without confusing them. 

My vocabulary & conceptual understanding has increased a lot, but to communicate the way you do, seems almost impossible to me. 

Expanding your vocabulary is very easy, using words in the right way is very hard. 

My thoughts & wording can be so unstructured & un conscise often that I don't even want to read through notes I have, So I view this verbal communication as a superpower, I don't mean knowing big words I just mean fluid expression basically, also balanced expression & the abillity to say the right amount, without udner or over explaining or overthinking (like i'm doing right now!)

Edited April 2, 2022 by Striving for more

[Carl-Richard]

@Striving for more I can follow you perfectly fine. I also appreciate the kind words. I think for me, it's a combination of a few factors.

Firstly, I've had a lot of practice just from writing almost 6k posts. I recently looked back at a post I made 2 years ago, and it had so many mistakes I was genuinely surprised.

Secondly, I tend to write these kinds of posts when I feel a sudden flash of inspiration, which ties back to intrinsic motivation. Once that happens, I can more easily enter a state of flow, which makes writing effortless. The more meaningful something is, the stronger the inspiration.

Also, just based on what other people have told me, I think I'm naturally inclined towards verbal and empathic abilities, which lends well to explaining things. I've also in recent years made a deliberate attempt to write as concisely as possible.

I don't know if that helps, but again, thanks for the compliments

[PepperBlossoms]

Wow this is really great stuff.  Thanks for sharing and thanks to those who commented.

There is more than just this but I got this- 

Think about what are your signals (do to create more love, fulfilment, worthwhile, increased capacity for complexity to support the desired mission) and what are your noises (distractions, waste of time, not really adding to life mission, resistance, discomfort)

[Carl-Richard]

On 2.4.2022 at 7:57 PM, PepperBlossoms said:

Wow this is really great stuff.  Thanks for sharing and thanks to those who commented.

There is more than just this but I got this- 

Think about what are your signals (do to create more love, fulfilment, worthwhile, increased capacity for complexity to support the desired mission) and what are your noises (distractions, waste of time, not really adding to life mission, resistance, discomfort)

Thank you very much! ? Yeah, it's really all about finding your truest/best self.

[thisintegrated]

Where is the tl;dr??

[Carl-Richard]

8 minutes ago, thisintegrated said:

Where is the tl;dr??

Ah, that would not serve anyone But I guess the last comment is.