By Rachael Maciasz, MD I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into when I decided to be a doctor. My impression of medical students was that they were driven people who love to learn and want a satisfying and rewarding career. Sounded like me! Everything was going great until I got to my third year of medical school and…
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 Adam Rindfleisch, M.D. In the past year, the Veterans Administration (VA) has been receiving a fair amount of negative press. It is tough to work in the VA right now. Morale is pretty low. And it is always challenging to be a Veteran – Veterans are one of the groups most in need of support of their health needs. …
By Kathryn Hayward, MD My daughter called me on the phone after taking her 15-month old baby to the doctor. Her voice was filled with the concern of a first-time mother whose first child had her first upper respiratory infection. “Mom, the doctor says that giving guaifenesin to Bianca is both dangerous and useless!” Growing up with a primary care…
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 Jack Temple, MS IV For the past two months I have been on the road and in the air. It is “interview season”. I, like many other fourth-year medical students, went shopping for a new suit, learned how to act as my own travel agent, and zig-zagged my way across America visiting as many Internal Medicine training programs as…
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 Adam Rindfleisch, MD Last month, I described a few of the many aspects of shamanism. People always want to know what to expect during a journeying experience. Truly, each one is unique. That said, hearing about others’ experiences can be helpful, and I sometimes am asked to give an example. I would like to share with you a…