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| Dr. Jack Harless |
Ken Wilber has created a meta-model for looking at life,
which he has styled the Four Quadrants.
The quadrants are made up of the I (thoughts, feelings, perceptions),
the IT (material body, objective data), the WE (shared experiences, cultural
stories & beliefs), & the ITS (governments, corporations, schools,
businesses). See image below. Image reference: Integral Health Resources
The I & WE are both subjective states. The IT & ITS are objective, data driven
states. In healthcare, your bio-medical
tests such as blood pressure, cholesterol, & heart rate would all fall
under the IT category. Your perception,
belief & experience of those tests & their data would fall under the I.
The importance of this model is that it gives value &
attention to all of human experience. It
leads us away from compartmentalization & towards unification. It’s not just that bio-medical tests are
important, although they are. Our
perception of those tests, as well as that of our bodies, & our life is
every bit as important.
In Vital Life terms our exercise program, our change in
strength, function & endurance, would all fall under that IT category
again. Our relationships & the fun
we experience while we’re exercising in a highly social setting would fall
under the I.
The importance of this is not to be taken lightly as the new
definition of wellness includes, but is not limited to, holistic
interpretations of the self, irrespective of what is occurring from a
bio-medical perspective. In other words,
someone can be very well from an internal, I perspective, & still have an
objective disease or symptom state in the IT category. This person might make a comment such as, “I
feel great, but my back really hurts today.”
The Vital Life program at St. Leonard calls us to pay
attention to all four quadrants as we strive for ever increasing & exciting
levels of fun & function. Both
outwardly & inwardly. Irrespective
of what condition we have in the IT category, we can always gain greater depth
& wisdom in the I category through socialization & participating with
the human experience to its fullest.
We can say, truly, that we
have lived a Vital life, when we experience all that life has to offer
with our whole being, in all four quadrants.
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