the two things you need to grow as a human being

Fifty years ago this month, I started medical school. The year was 1970. For the next seven years I studied traditional Western medicine. It started with gross anatomy...dissecting a human corpse organ by organ, muscle by muscle, and nerve by nerve. We learned about the structure and function of every system: cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, sensory, integumentary, musculoskeletal, and neurological. Then, the diseases that affected them. Then, how to make the diagnosis, and eventually, how to treat the problem.

While we studied our lives away, something else was afoot. This was just about the time the concept of the "mind-body" connection emerged. Timothy Leary and Ram Dass were starting to experiment with hallucinogenic mushrooms in their quest for enlightenment. We were hearing about accupuncture, hypnosis, meditation, massage therapy and therapeutic touch, Reiki and yoga...all dismissed by the medical elite as invalid for lack of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies that proved their worth. 

"Let your body take care of you."

~Deepak Chopra~

Nevertheless, these so-called "alternative therapies" intrigued me. The concept of the mind-body connection they depended upon was rejected by the scientific community, but I'd seen it work, so my curiosity drove me to investigate. I took vacations on retreat where I practiced various forms of meditation and yoga. I studied hypnosis. I networked with women who practiced various methods of energy medicine. But I never had the time or opportunity to use or promote these techniques in my own practice.

These are said to be the two conditions you need in order to to grow as a human being: time and opportunity. I never enjoyed either until my children were grown and out on their own, and until after I retired. Now I have nothing but time and opportunity, so I'm taking advantage of it...

...which is why, this week, it occurred to me that I should order another bookcase. In March, I closed my door to the outside world in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and since then, I have ordered and read so many books, I no longer have room for them. This week's delivery brought "Woman Awake" by Christine Feldman, "Reinventing Medicine" by Larry Dossey, MD, "Super Genes" by Deepak Chopra, MD and Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D., an Ayurvedic cookbook, and "Quantum Healing" by Chopra. 

I'm learning to meditate. Struggling a bit with yoga. Changing my diet. Feeling fairly peaceful despite the chaos that has brought the world to its knees. Looking forward to the uncertain future. Living in awe of the universe and the beating of my own aging heart. 

This is my advice to you: if you are overwhelmed with fear or worry or uncertainty, don't wait until your nest is empty and you are retired to begin your search for peace. For healing. For courage. You are surrounded by teachers. Wisdom abounds. Start now.

"You must find the place inside yourself

where nothing is impossible."

~Deepak Chopra~

jan