By Dr. Ron Passfield
Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions, was concerned about the extraordinary rise in the use of antidepressant drugs in America and the associated total focus on biological causes of depression. He set about doing worldwide research on the social factors contributing to depression. He … Continue reading “Depression and the Loss of Connection To Meaningful Work”
Dr. Cheryl Rezek, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, in her video presentation, What is mindfulness, stresses the connection between mind and body. She highlights the fact that stress is not only experienced in the mind through perception of threat but also in the body in the form of stomach aches, headaches, pain in the shoulder or other … Continue reading “Mindfulness and the Mind-Body Connection”
In a previous post when discussing mindfulness and neuroplasticity, I mentioned that Tai Chi actually develops the mind physically by increasing the size of the insula in the brain. Tai Chi is one of the mind-body techniques that form part of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is based on Chinese philosophy incorporating Taoism and Confucianism. Tai … Continue reading “Tai Chi and the Mind-Body Connection”
Sharon Salzberg, in her presentation provided as part of the Mindfulness & Meditation Summit, focused on the theme, The Art of Mindful Connection. Sharon is the author of ten books, including Real Love. Sharon made the point that real love is not a commodity to be exchanged, it is not simply about reciprocation -“I’ll do something … Continue reading “Mindful Connection”
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is the author of a poem-a-day as well as a dozen books of poetry. Her daily poems can be accessed through her blog, A Hundred Falling Veils. Her latest books of poetry – All the Honey and The Unfolding – were written after the death of her son and that of her … Continue reading “Poetry – Blending Opposites and Breaking Frames”
Each month I participate in an online Meetup of a group of writers-with-chronic-illness sponsored by the Health Story Collaborative (HSC). In our February Creative Meetup, we were introduced by our facilitator, Jennifer Crystal, to the concept of writing a letter to our chronic illness. Jennifer who has Lyme Disease herself, read out a poem by … Continue reading “A Letter in Response to Chronic Illness”
In a previous post I explored happiness and fulfillment in retirement drawing on the work of Bec Wilson, creator of the Epic Retirement Flagship Course and the author of the book, How to have an Epic Retirement. In that post, I shared some of Bec’s suggestions concerning “Epic Pursuits” that could enable us to achieve an “engaged, curious … Continue reading “Epic Pursuits Before and During Retirement”
In a previous post, I discussed the season of winter in the progress of our chronic illness. There I explored “wintering” as a way to move beyond the darkness, despondency, despair and debilitation that accompanies the experience of winter in the progression of our chronic illness. Wintering, in this context, involves “letting the light in” … Continue reading “Managing the Seasons of Chronic Illness – Summer”
Lion’s Roar provides a deep resource base for developing an insight into Buddhism. The website provides a full glossary of key Buddhist concepts, traditions and terms as well as an extensive library of audios (advice and meditations), in-depth articles and guides for meditations). In one of the many audio resources, Sharon Salzberg , author and … Continue reading “Working with Emotional Energy”
In the movie Zorba the Greek, Alexis Zorba contends, “I’m a man, so I married. Wife, children, house, everything. The full catastrophe.” Jon Kabat-Zinn draws on this analogy in writing his landmark book, Full Catastrophe Living, in which he contends that mindfulness meditation enables us to “make use of the full spectrum of our experiences, … Continue reading “Mindfulness Meditation for Full Catastrophe Living”
