We Have Funny Attitudes toward Self-care & Normal Character Development

     We resent hearing about worst-case scenarios: divorce, burnout, suicide, yet have no desire to listen to, or especially practice, preventive measures. Regarding our personal health, we throw rational scientific thinking out the window and fly by the seat of our pants. We hope to be lucky, ignoring most of the wellness advice we give our patients.
     At any given stage of our psychosocial development, we tend to think it won't get any better. Most of us have little knowledge of developmental psychology, and thus make little or no concerted effort to progress as far as possible along a life-long trajectory. 
     See also: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2012/08/adult-psychosocial-development.html

March 30, 2013    The Fine-Tuners at the Halifax Seaport Market   http://thefinetuners.ca/

Basic, Core, Resilience, Stress Management, Mindfulness

      What do you experience when stressed-out? An increase in the amount & intensity of self-talk? Accompanied by feeling thoroughly disturbed - your whole world is shaky? You feel all beat up - your head, neck, chest, gut, shoulders & back are tense, stiff, closed off and sore?
     What, in contrast, do you experience when you're having a wonderful time with a person or pet that you deeply love? Little or no self-talk? Stillness? You feel at peace, perhaps your chest area feels soft, open & warm?
     Under stress, most of us by default, quickly become "cognitively fused" with self-talk & it's associated disturbed emotions. We're not simply experiencing stress, we're lost in it, consumed by it - we feel as if we ARE stress itself. 
     At soon as an anxious thought / emotion arises, we do have a choice: to fall forward into an escalating whirlwind of anxious self-talk OR step back into stillness and equanimity - the wise, observer-self position. This choice is only available EARLY on, before the momentum of emotions hijacks mature judgment. We're all too familiar with falling forward into the circular, anxiety-filled stories we tell ourselves - it's very stressful & exhausting. But we're less familiar with the backward step, pulling back from this recurrent, primitive, egocentric nightmare.
     If we don't fall forward into anxiety EARLY, we can step back into the mature, evolved aspect of ourselves that remains still, wise, open-minded and open-hearted under all conditions. Here there is stillness, peace, no self-talk, and you will notice that your chest area feels soft, open & warm. This is where we observe everything and generate wise decisions that decrease our own and others' suffering, and genuinely improve quality of life.
     This early, backward step into the wisdom zone requires intentional practice, but is incredibly worthwhile. True resilience is consistently being at this level of consciousness, regardless of external circumstances. Each of us can learn to reside in this evolved state of being, more and more consistently, despite life's many challenges, through mindfulness practice.

     See also: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2012/08/adult-psychosocial-development.html
     and: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/04/only-keep-heart-open-continuously.html

Photo: poppyjk   www.dpreview.com

Be the Creative Artist of Your Own Life

     It's common and very sad to see people 'go with the flow', take 'the path of least resistance', not 'make waves' and 'minimize stress.' Too many of us are simply along for a passive ride on the current of life, perhaps only realizing that we've never lived when on our death bed.
     It seems infinitely wiser to take an active, alert, awake, energetic, engaged approach to life:

     "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
       Henry David Thoreau    http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid107665.html#S26fAxRWZzeJYPHF.99

     "Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul."
W. Somerset Maugham   http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/w_somerset_maugham.html#SCbvgRSQIk57jcbQ.99

     “Be always mindful of what you are doing and thinking. So that you may put the imprint of your immortality on every passing incident of your daily life.”         Abd’l-Khaliq Ghijdewani, 13^th century Sufi 

       Walsh R. “Essential spirituality. The 7 central practices to awaken heart and mind.” John Wiley & Sons Inc, NY, 1999.

     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/03/303-heart-mind-body-energy-life.html

 

http://stevemccurry.com

Annual Mindfulness Course for Health-Care & Other Professionals in Halifax NS

MINDFULNESS
for Health-Care & Other Professionals:

An 8-week Immersion in Self-care

Dr. John Lovas
Thursday Evenings, 5:30 – 8:00 pm, early October – November Each Year

Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS, Canada

Course Synopsis
          Working in health care, other professions, and life in general, is very stressful at times. Yet to truly enjoy life, and best serve our patients, clients, coworkers, families and society, we ourselves need to be healthy. Effective, regular self-care is not only sensible, but also a professional responsibility. Mindfulness – a universal, but underdeveloped way of relating both realistically and kindly to ourselves and the world – is becoming a well-recognized foundation of self-care. 

          This continuing education course is designed for health-care & other professionals who spend an unhealthy portion of their time & energy caring for everyone but themselves. The course provides a unique opportunity to learn about and experience a profoundly beneficial program of self-care practices. 

          Not simply a technique, mindfulness is a state of being “that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” (Kabat-Zinn) Mindfulness training “increases awareness of thoughts, emotions, and maladaptive ways of responding to stress, thereby helping participants learn to cope with stress in healthier, more effective ways.” (Bishop et al)

Course Objectives
          Participants will learn and practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, qi gong breathing, standing meditation, and partake (voluntary) in discussions about integrating mindfulness into our professional and private lives.
          Intended audience: Dental, medical, mental health, social work, legal & other professionals. You and your entire office are invited to engage in a profoundly positive transformative learning experience. Attendance is limited to 20. Participants are encouraged to engage in daily practice. We derive from this practice precisely what we put into it.
         

John G.L. Lovas BSc, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C)  

          Dr. Lovas obtained science and dental degrees from the University of Toronto, and specialty training in oral pathology at the University of Western Ontario. He’s served as chief examiner in oral pathology for the Royal College of Dentists of Canada and as president of the Canadian Academy of Oral Pathology. Dr. Lovas was full-time faculty at the Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, teaching oral pathology & oral medicine for 31 years, and served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs until his retirement in 2014. He obtained teacher-training in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at UMass Medical Center, the Omega Institute in New York, and the Rochester Medical School. For over ten years Dr. Lovas has been leading Mindfulness workshops for dental, dental hygiene, medical, law and other students, practitioners and staff.

Course Schedule
5:30 – 6:00 pm Registration and light dinner
6:00 – 8:00 pm Thursday evenings

Please note that we will postpone any sessions that the majority cannot attend or for inclement weather. 

Participants are expected to attend at least 7 of the 8 sessions. Positive group dynamics depend on consistent attendance and participation.

For fees, registration, please contact:

CDE Office          Phone: (902) 494-1674        Email: dentcde@dal.ca

See also:              http://jglovas.wix.com/awarenessnow#!courses/cfvg

CREDITS  16 hours of lecture

****** Register early to avoid disappointment ******

Healers: Physician, Dentist, Psychotherapist, Nurse, Osteopath, Physiotherapist, etc

     Is not our primary calling that of healer? Are we not all called to serve exactly like the shamans of old? Is not our "specialty" a mere detail?

     "Healing involves a basic logic of transformation from sickness to wellness that is enacted through culturally salient metaphorical actions.
     At the heart of any healing practice are metaphorical transformations of the quality of experience (from feeling ill to wellness) and the identity of the person (from afflicted to healed)."

       Kirmayer LJ. The cultural diversity of healing: meaning, metaphor and mechanism. Br Med Bull 2004; 69: 33-48.

http://stevemccurry.com/

Wisdom - Eastern & Western Conceptions among Young Adults

     A recent (2000) study suggests "that the concept of wisdom is understood differently in Western (American & Australian) and Eastern (Indian & Japanese) cultures.
     American and Australian young adults (felt) that 'wise' is semantically most similar in the West to 'experienced' and 'knowledgeable,' while least similar to 'discreet' ... reflecting the Western historical/cultural understanding of the concept that stresses the analytical features such as a broad knowledge database accumulated through life experience.
     By contrast, both the Indian as well as Japanese young adults perceived 'wise' as semantically most closely associated with 'discreet' followed by 'aged' and 'experienced,' whereas 'wise' and 'knowledgeable' were clustered at the last step of the analysis.

     'Wise' is conceptualized in the East not as mere analytical ability but as a psychological quality that emphasizes more 'direct' understanding with a great deal of emotional involvement or an effective integration of multiple aspects of human consciousness (eg cognition, affect, intuition, etc)."

       Takahashi M, Bordia P. The concept of wisdom: A cross-cultural comparison. International Journal of Psychology 2000; 35(1): 1-9.

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2012/01/listening.html

http://stevemccurry.com/

Wisdom, Deep Insight, Mature Understanding, Practical Skill, Wellbeing

     "All authentic religions — including revealed traditions such as Christianity and Islam — contain contemplative or mystical branches. These are vitally important because they practice contemplative disciplines (eg meditation, contemplation, yoga) that foster an array of psychological and spiritual skills such as concentration, emotional maturity, and wisdom. When these skills mature, they can culminate in a direct insight into reality that yields a radically different (transrational, transconceptual, or transcendental) kind of wisdom known, for example, as jnana (Hinduism), prajna (Buddhism), ma’rifah (Islam), or gnosis.
     Wisdom is a function of deep insight into, and mature understanding of, the central existential issues of life, together with practical skill in responding to these issues in ways that enhance the deep wellbeing of all those who the responses affect.  
     The ratio of wisdom to foolishness reflects the past evolution and present maturity of cultures, and is probably of monumental importance in deciding their fate. The wisdom to foolishness ratio may well be one of the most important cultural factors determining individual and collective wellbeing, and will also determine how much cultures support or suppress the search for wisdom (ie sophiatrophic or sophiatoxic)."

       Walsh R. The varieties of wisdom: Contemplative, cross-cultural, and integral contributions. Research in Human Development 2011; 8(2): 109-127.

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/contributions-of-mindfulness-other.html
     and: http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/1242.aspx# 

Photo: Michael Hanson   http://pdn30.pdnevents.com/gallery/2013/index.php?contest=hanson

Open Rational Inquisitive Appropriate Relationships

     Only a very tiny fraction of our waking day is spent alert, curious, seeing things just as they are, fully engaging with and responding appropriately to whatever each moment holds.
     Instead, we're on autopilot most of the time, caught up in the momentum of the story of our lives, like swimmers caught in the current of a fast-moving river. This momentum includes automatic reactive thought patterns and persistent moods. These provide the illusion of stability and control, but they're examples of automatic negative thinking.
     The momentum is strong, most of it causes suffering, BUT it's entirely optional. It takes a degree of mindfulness to at least temporarily extricate oneself from the flow of one's thought-stream.
     Cognitive defusion is the realization that my thoughts are not me, nor a direct readout on reality. Metacognition is insight into one’s own thinking process.
     We use a mature human adult's executive control when we are open, rational, curious and engaged with whatever this moment holds. To fully exercise this evolved option, requires that we intentionally, continuously practice mindfulness.

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/03/mindfulness-letting-go-of-negative.html

Photo: Tim A2   www.dpreview.com

 

Therapeutic Presence, Self-knowledge, Self-acceptance

To optimize our therapeutic presence, we need to "work through unfinished business or issues that keep us stuck. We cannot expect our clients to develop any further than we have in our growth process. The idea that we can help our clients to resolve their issues and lead a healthier life simply by using proper techniques is misleading. … techniques will have minimal impact if they are facilitated by someone who is detached or absent. To develop and sustain this quality of presence, therapists must commit to working through their own issues so that those issues will not interfere in the therapy process and so that therapists will be clear and open vessels who are accessible and attuned to the client, without personal interference.
     Presence opens up the potential for happiness and joy now. If we are ruminating or expending mental and emotional energy on past hurt or future longings, we miss the preciousness of this moment. This level of present-centered attention demands constant attention to care for and to bring ourselves back to this moment, where the treasures of contentment, experiencing, openness, and inner peace are possible.”
       Geller SM, Greenberg LS. Therapeutic presence. A mindful approach to effective therapy. APA, Washington, DC, 2012.


     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/03/293-presence-therapy-healing.html

Photo: Figsbury   www.dpreview.com

Spiritual, Religious Needs, Preferences, Openness

     The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association International defines spiritual well-being as the "ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life through connectedness with self, others, art, music, literature, nature, and/or a power greater than oneself that can be strengthened." They define religiosity "as the ability to (rely) on religious beliefs and/or participate in rituals of a particular faith tradition.

     To effectively and holistically assess spirituality in patient care, healthcare providers need to understand ... although all humans are spiritual, not all humans are religious, that religion may or may not be part of one’s spirituality, and that openness is needed about allowance for individuals to express what spirituality personally means to them in their health, illness and suffering experiences."
 

       Sessanna L et al. Measures assessing spirituality as more than religiosity: A methodological review of nursing and health-related literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2011; 67(8): 1677-1694.

 

Photo: Jen003   www.dpreview.com

Spirituality in Health Care - the Power, Force, Energy domains

     "Spirituality has been defined as including creative energy, motivation, guidance, and a striving for inspiration. Spirituality is the unifying foundation of personhood, and as a coalescing force has been seen as an energy allowing integration (and healing); a life-giving force giving a sense of wellness, a dynamic and integrative growth process, a unifying force, and the driving force behind religious practice.

      Spirituality is an integrating energy in the ongoing process of self-discovery for recovering alcoholics in comparing recovery to a journey. ... in a study of patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction, spirituality was the life-giving force providing a sense of wellness to those facing physical illness.

      an attribute of spirituality is a dynamic and integrative growth process leading to achievement of purpose and meaning in life. ... a unifying force that integrates and transcends all other domains. ... Other concepts related to power, energy, or force included the relation to creativity, the aspect of life that motivates and guides one’s significant choices, and the striving for inspiration."

     Chiu L et al. An Integrative Review of the Concept of Spirituality in the Health Sciences. Western Journal of Nursing Research 2004; 26(4): 405-428.
 

Ellen Gibling at the Halifax Seaport Market, Feb 23, 2013   http://ellengibling.ca/index.html

 

Spirituality in Health Care - Transcendence

     As health-care professionals, it's critical to recognize & override any personal aversions we may have toward religion and or spirituality, because one or both of these will be profoundly meaningful AND healing to MOST of our patients.

     "A great number of researchers considered transcendence as an essential component of spirituality or as an indicator of spirituality. ... spirituality transcends the present context of reality and exists throughout and beyond time and space. ... spirituality is one indicator of the human capacity for transcendence. ... transcendence is a level of awareness through which a person achieves new perspectives & experiences that exceed ordinary physical boundaries. ... adolescents, following the death of a sibling developed new perspectives of self, others, sibling relationship, Higher Power, death, and life. ... transcendence is expanding conceptual boundaries of the self beyond limits posed by the immediate situation, physical limitations, or otherwise constricted views of life and human potential. ... transcendence is a rising above or going beyond the limits of material existence. ... transcendence is a developmental and evolutionary process of integration and inclusion into a greater wholeness. Liberation from suffering and opening to life and death were considered an essence of transcendence."


     Chiu L et al. An Integrative Review of the Concept of Spirituality in the Health Sciences. Western Journal of Nursing Research 2004; 26(4): 405-428.

Photo: es70   www.dpreview.com