Imagine the relief the human species would experience as flu season approaches, especially in view of a possible  swine flu pandemic, were the headlines one morning to announce to the world, “HEALTH has arrived!”

Here at Namaste Publishing, we’re excited to make just such an announcement.

Those of us who have been closely associated with this brilliantly insightful book by Ivan Rados are astounded by the simplicity and elegance of the message he shares with us in Health: It’s All About Consciousness.

In a world whose focus is on addressing symptoms, it’s not surprising many people are afraid and rush out to get their shots without giving it a second thought, even though there are some doctors and health authorities who are concerned that attempts to stave off swine flu with a hastily produced vaccine may end up causing more deaths than the illness itself. But with dire warnings of the possibility that millions could die in this pandemic, what is a responsible person to do?

In contrast to society’s panicky, fearful approach, Health: It’s All About Consciousness invites us to see disease in a different light. We are asked to see illness as a symptom of something much deeper.

When the body’s immune system is compromised, we become vulnerable to illnesses of all kinds. Ivan explains that if we are unconscious in some area of our life, it has repercussions for the whole of our being.

When sickness arises, it does so in order to draw our attention to our lack of consciousness in some area of our life. For instance, if we consistently eat junk food, don’t get any exercise, and are continually anxious, we are behaving unconsciously. Eventually, symptoms will begin occurring, as the wisdom of the body seeks to awaken us to our unconscious ways.

It’s not symptoms that we should be so concerned about, but blockages in the body’s flow of energy that disrupt our system’s delicate balance, leaving us wide open to getting sick. Symptoms, rather than being our foe, are our friend, as they alert us to the ways in which our flow of energy is out of whack.

Because the source of health doesn’t lie within the human body, restoring and maintaining health isn’t merely a matter of engaging in a continual battle with bacteria and viruses, genetic mutations, and so forth. Such a mentality operates as if we were disconnected and separate from the whole of reality, which is grounded in the divine Presence—or what Ivan calls our “One Self.”

Dis-ease, just as the word implies, is a condition of uneasiness and restlessness that arises when we are disconnected from our source.

If we are “ill at ease,” we set ourselves up to become ill with dis-ease.

To return to health requires us to restore the natural flow and balance of energy that the body enjoys when we are profoundly connected to our One Self.

In other words, instead of engaging in a “war” on sickness, the conscious approach invites us to tune into our essence, allowing our life to flow effortlessly, with grace and ease, from our center.

As Ivan explains, “Health is the natural result of simply being.”

There are wise, appropriate steps we can take to protect ourselves from illness. But unless we correct the fundamental cause of our vulnerability to illness, health is likely to escape us no matter what steps we take.

Health: It’s All About Consciousness is available from the Namaste iStore.

Namaste.