The first of two essays about my journey into consciousness and action – by Tom Courl I’m not supposed to get a heart attack! That was my reaction when I found out that I failed my stress test. I was 55 years old. It was February of this past year. At the time, I was mostly dwelling on the possibility…
By Kathryn Hayward, MD and Jack Temple MS IV My heart quickened with excitement as I read Jack Temple’s last blog post. Dr. Edwards’ response to their conversation during Jack ́s residency interview filled me with hope. I thought, “In an actual residency interview, an MD showed interest in Jack’s experiences with Integrative Health. Wow.” I hadn’t spoken directly with…
By David L. Thomas, Jr I grew up in a Midwestern family that relocated to the East Coast of the United States when I was still an infant. My mother was a dietitian by training and we ate as most American families did in the 1950s. Meat, potatoes and well-cooked vegetables were our staples, all piled on the same plate…
By: Zoë Hack Keller I am passionate about the connection between food and health. I can’t say I’ve always been a foodie, or paid attention to its connection to the body, but as I have opened my eyes to the healing potential of food, my world has shifted. This shift started in my childhood where I was raised on a…
by Lenora Deslandes When discussing the concept of enlightenment, Deepak Chopra describes two indications that transformation is taking place. First, one stops worrying and simply accepts what is. Second, one has more and more experiences of synchronicities and coincidences. While I am far from being worry-free, and certainly far from enlightenment, I have experienced the magical role that synchronicity can…
By David L. Thomas, Jr. When my mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer 23 years ago, she could not believe it and neither could I. She had felt a lump under her arm for a while but did not really think that someone as “healthy” as she could contract that dread disease. After all, she ate healthful meals of…
by Annie Robinson, M.S. Narrative Medicine They carried steaming cups of deli coffee, worn shoulder bags stuffed with papers and snacks and sweaters, bright yellow Metrocards, and buzzing cell phones. They carried worry lines on their foreheads. They carried stress and fatigue from work. They carried regret about how little time they were able to spend with their families this week….
By Adam Rindfleisch, MD If they don’t take time to explore, people passing through my old stomping grounds in southeastern Idaho might not fully grasp the beauty of the Lost River Valley. The Rocky Mountains rise straight up from the high sagebrush desert and the lava flows. There are countless places to explore. In fact, mountains are so numerous and…
By Bill Manahan, MD I was recently talking to my friend, Jim, about the International Integrators Immersion Retreat taking place next March (2015) at the Quaker Retreat Center in Ben Lomond, California. He asked me why we were doing it, and why at my age I was taking the time and energy to help make it happen. I reminded Jim…
By David Read, MBA, MPH I remember my last day in a health club – it was during the same month that our first child was born and I received a nice but stressful work promotion. The net result for my health was that my systolic blood pressure started to match my salary and my inches of waist line crept…