From BMI to FGH: Measuring your Spiritual Wellness

Adolphe Quetelet a Belgian scientist in the 1830’s, mapped people's weight in proportion to their height and found some interesting correlations. Even though he never intended for it to become a scale, the world knows Quetelet’s work as the BMI or the Body Mass Index. Much debated and all-pervasive most of us use BMI as a barometer for our physical health.

Recently, Caspar Szulc, a healthcare entrepreneur asked me: “Daaji, how does one measure spiritual health?” I have been thinking about this question and I remembered an acronym I coined a few years ago: FGH.

FGH can be your tool for measuring your spiritual health. FGH will give you a real-time reading of your spiritual well-being. It will act as an aid in measuring your progress.

So, what does FGH stand for? Flexibility, Generosity, and Humility.

These are the three cardinal virtues for spiritual vitality. These three measures help you fine-tune your ego. Using FGH, one can overcome the adverse effects of ego and maintain good health. Let me explain how FGH works.

Flexibility

Flexibility is the hallmark of the heart. To understand flexibility, think of water. It takes the shape of any container it's poured into. When allowed to flow, it lets nature guide its path. The infinite raindrops falling from the sky and merging in the rivers and oceans show how flexibility leads to unity. Flexibility is a profound strength. It shows one has the confidence and courage to change their opinions and be adaptable. Such people grow, they don't break. Their aura expands and not constricts. Their presence welcomes and not repels.

In any situation where there is tension, conflict, a difference of opinion, or clashing of egos focus on “F”. Assess whether you are being flexible or rigid. Whether you are being petty or poised. Flexibility gives you also the room to breathe and take a pause. It prevents us from forming knots of emotion that bury themselves in our subconscious and show up in the form of disease. Our bodies are living ledgers of our emotions. Every wrinkle, aching joint, and shallow breath is a record of suppressed emotions that lay unresolved. On the FGH scale, F is the basic hygiene factor. Once you understand that, next is G.

Generosity

Are you being generous? With others and with yourself. Generosity is not merely donating money and possessions. It's a much grander virtue. Generosity means accepting others as they are. Not tolerating but accepting them. It also applies to how you accept yourself. In essence, generosity is the acceptance of reality. The reality of the current moment, the person in front of you, the self that is you. Generosity is vital in building the muscles of consciousness. Generosity gives you the escape velocity to reach new heights of spiritual well-being. In situations where you find yourself being flexible, also bring in generosity. That will shift the quality of your interaction. Flexibility and generosity shift passion to compassion, selfishness to selflessness, and greed into gratitude.

 Humility

Finally, comes H: humility. A mother tincture quality that defines the essence of who we are, a part of the ultimate Reality. Humble people don’t think less of themselves, but they think more of others. Especially as a person grows, it is one’s humility that ensures that growth does not block the flow of empathy. Humility is a sign of great self-awareness and an excellent measure of spiritual vitality. Humility blesses the person with moral treasures. In nature, a tree laden with fruit bends. In the same way, humans bearing spiritual fruits become increasingly humble. Humility manifests in their actions. When you are in the company of a humble soul, you will find unexplainable peace and serenity.

In the FGH scale, there is no prescribed order. You can start with generosity and be accepting, or you could be humble and allow for wisdom to prevail. The choice is ours. What matters is that we use the tool. When we exercise our spiritual muscles something wonderful happens. Not only do we become stronger, meaning more loving but its effects rub off on others too.

One request: Meditate with regularity. If possible, at the same time every day. Regularity is the mother of well-being. Regular meditation will make you aware of the abundance within. Let me know your experiences of using the FGH.

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KAMLESH D. PATEL, also known as Daaji, is the fourth and current spiritual guide of the global Heartfulness movement.  He has spent the past four decades training people across the globe in Heartfulness meditation. Author of USA Today Bestseller, “Spiritual Anatomy” and numerous bestsellers, environmentalist, entrepreneur, speaker, and pharmacist (by training), his teaching integrates science and spirituality to give a deeper understanding of the purpose of human existence. Learn more at www.spiritualanatomy.com

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Spiritual Anatomy: heartfulness.org/en/spiritual-anatomy/