Health as Expanding Consciousness, HEC (Newman)

The seven stages of Margaret Newman are ingenious and anti-patriarchal in nature. It doesn't assume a natural inherent ability to understand what is beneficial, and what is detrimental to health. The first stage, we start as a clean slate and make choices, with the potential to make ones that promote wellness. The primary assumption with Newman's Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC) is that without making the detrimental choices first, it is difficult to truly make progress to the upper 4 phases.

The second phase has been called "binding", which deals with falling into addictive behaviors that with time will manifest as disease. It also has been called "perception of time". Every moment of a person's life, has a focus of past, present and future to different degrees. Intense forms of focus on the past, can result in grieving, or feelings of failure and loss. Focus on the present moment, without concern for the future, can result in dangerous behaviors. Too much focus on the future, can take away one's focus from the now moment, and prevent one from quickly responding to the environment.

The third has been called "centering", which deals with a whole person's state of comfort with being. Much of a persons hopes for "experiencing being", is a hope for the future. In the future, I will feel comfortable with who I am, and will be happy. There is always some sort of condition that must be met before a person can feel comfortable with being, or in other words live have a constant feeling of self and happiness. This stage has also been called the stage of "space", because the world is just never good enough. Its that greener pasture over there, that I will truly be happy.

The fourth phase is called "choice", and is characterized by cognitively and emotionally understanding the connection between behaviors that are detrimental to health and the corresponding manifestations of illness in the person's pattern. The person at this stage can, at this point, also conceive of behaviors, cognitively and emotionally that are beneficial to health. This is the phase that a person is actively choosing.

The fifth stage is called "de-centering", it is when the person is accepts ones life and is at peace with it. The person remain calm, despite what happening in the environment. The person no longer has mental knee jerk reactions to situations.

The sixth phase is called "unbinding", it is when the person has developed a perception of time that is beneficial to health. The person can perform long-term planning without feeling worry. The person can reminisce, with calmness and no regret. The person can adapt the span and intensity of his/her time perception to best fit the situation of the moment. This is the stage that a person no longer has mental knee jerk reactions to what a person's mind is doing in any given moment.

The seventh phase, honestly eludes me. If anyone here can help me understand the seventh phase more clearly, I would greatly appreciate it.