Honeyopathy conducted a survey recently that examined how Americans assess their health and well-being. The survey measured people's lifestyle choices and their potential impact and how they're coping with life since the pandemic started and found that 80% of respondents are more than and completely dissatisfied with their Spiritual health and 87% are not optimistic that would change over the next year.

How do we define spiritual wellness?

Spiritual wellness is connecting to something beyond your physical presence—something that can bring you a sense of awe, respect and connectedness. Connecting to your spiritual self can provide a sense of purpose, meaning, and peace to life which then can be used to guide you in daily life in a way that is grounded and meaningful.

During times of adversity, our spiritual wellness has the power and ability to make us more aware of our choices and enables us to make decisions more easily. Our spiritual health can ground us during periods of change and uncertainty and give us the resiliency to survive and thrive with grace and inner peace in the face of adversity. Understanding and nurturing our spiritual health will in turn promote the other dimensions of wellness.

Health and wellness are two distinct states of being. 

Health is defined as the overall mental and physical state of a person; the absence of disease. This isn't entirely the same thing as wellness. Wellness refers to the state of being in optimal mental and physical health. But wellness is more than that. It's about living a life full of personal responsibility and therefore taking proactive steps for one's entire well-being.

There are several dimensions of wellness. They include:

• Physical (i.e., exercise, diet, sleep, etc.)
• Intellectual (i.e., critical thinking, curiosity, learning, etc.)
• Emotional (i.e., self-esteem, coping skills, trust, etc.)
• Interpersonal (i.e., communication skills, relationship skills, etc.)
• Spiritual (i.e, empathy, purpose, compassion, etc.)

Communing in nature and its therapeutic benefits.

There are many studies that demonstrate the clinically therapeutic benefits of spending time in nature. In Japan, the practice of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, has been proven to lower stress–and that spending time in nature is responsible for many measurable beneficial changes in the body. Moreover, when people walk through or stay overnight in forests, they often exhibit changes in the blood that are associated with protection against cancer, better immunity and lower blood pressure.

When in nature, we can improve all areas of our wellness (i.e., physical, intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal) but it seems that connecting with our spiritual eludes us the most. While in nature, it becomes possible to go deeper and develop a better self-awareness and mental clarity.  

The magic of honeybees.

Honeybees are an integral part of our natural world. They pollinate the majority of our crops and trees, giving us the food we eat and the air we breathe. But bees also hold a spiritual significance for humanity. Their sacred hum is something of a mystery and yet its sophistication and commitment to community and self-sacrifice is an example of how we can connect with humanity and our place in it.

The honeybee represents the wise and respectful use of nature--not the exploitation of it.

Moreover, honey contains an abundance of enzymes, vitamins and minerals, which can be used as a natural remedy, both internally and externally. Their energy and frequencies can also be beneficial and calming. Because everything is energy, when we connect with nature and bees your thoughts send out a positive energy throughout your body. The power of your mind can be used to send out healing messages and aid in the healing process. 

The Chinese have known this all along.

Qi (pronounced ‘chee’) in Chinese medicine is our life force energy and it flows through our bodies along channels (or "meridians") similar to blood vessels. Through careful observation and note-keeping over hundreds of years, the ancient Chinese developed this map of the body's energetic system. Maintaining a health flow of Qi helps the Yin and Yang energy balance and thus promotes good health.

When Qi is out of balance, we experience abnormal bodily functions like bruising, excessive heat or cold, dryness and fatigue.

• Qi prevents disease by creating a layer of protection that surrounds the body.
• Qi transforms our fluids into food for the body for sustenance.
• Qi maintains optimal body temperature.
• Qi protects our organs and balances the excretion of fluids

Qi Tonics of honey and botanicals—a way to balance and connect us to our spiritual selves.

Qi declines naturally with age but we can strengthen our Qi for a long, healthy life. Qi tonics amplified in honey and enriched in botanical energy can balance our bodies and increase the circulation of Qi. Qi tonics also helps us rejuvenate from Qi-depleting factors such as stress, lack of sleep, overwork, recreational drugs, excess alcohol, and poor nutrition. Chinese botanical mixtures based in the 5 elements in nature can be very helpful in supplementing Qi and helping to bring the body back into balance and is the pathway to spiritual wellness.