SECTION Thinking about...

A

In This Section: Ground rules must be laid before decisions can be made about what is right or wrong, true or untrue. It is not enough to start with a belief and proceed from there. Unjustified belief is in large part the reason the world continues to teeter on the precipice, why so many people suffer as they do, and why we are kept guessing and floundering. If truth matters, thinking must matter. Here are the simple thinking principles anyone can apply to start solving life's problems.

B

In This Section: Health is a decision, not something that happens to us by accident. It is also a moral choice and duty, not just to self but also to those who love us and to society at large. Others should not have to mourn our pain nor pay for our care because we decided to live a life of neglect and abuse. To make healthy choices in life requires that we understand what we biologically are and how we fit into our world. Unlike in times gone by when the rigors of the wild mandated the lives we led, today, with so many choices, we must use intelligence and foresight—the SOLVER principles—if we wish to be healthy. There are as many different opinions on health as there are doctors and books to express them. But opinion is not what we are after; truth is our goal. Truth always lies within, and these chapters will help you think your way to being the healthiest you can be.

C

In This Section: The modern commercial world would lead us to believe that experts, technology, and industry can fill our every need. All that is required of us is money. This mindset dangerously pervades healthcare, partly because medicine is a profitable business, but also because consumers are lazy and want others to take care of them. Yet health is not something somebody else does to us. It comes from within and cannot be purchased. It is a garden we individually sow and nurture. Letting our health go to weed and wither and then expecting medicine to fix it is unrealistic. Even if free insurance, drugs, and medical services were in limitless supply, the idea that humans are a mere assemblage of material parts and pieces, and that broken health can be serviced like a washing machine, remains dead wrong—and deadly.

D