June 28, 2012: Good listening! by Jean H.

Might this be called "active listening?"

        One of our active members, Jean H. had taken a course in Listening and decided to share some of the things she learned with our group. Various experts about listening have stated that listening is an art form. It is very close to mindfulness and can be easily elevated to a spiritual level.

     First Jean presented a list of listening characteristics. We were asked to just consider some of these characteristics and if we commonly practice them in our communications with other people. Some of these descriptive listening practices are examples of good listening and others are examples of common habits that do not promote good listening.
     1) I quiet myself - clear my mind.
     2) Be present to the person speaking.
     3) Tune out someone speaking.
     4) Multitasking while on the phone, supposedly listening to someone.
     5) Focus on fact someone is speaking to me rather than what I am going to say next.
     6) Interested in people and the topic they are speaking of
     7) Interrupt or finish sentence for other person.
     8) Uncomfortable with silence -- want to fill it with words.
     9) Maintain eye contact, maintain appropriate space between other person.
    10) Ask appropriate questions
    11) Quickly want to tell about myself.
    12) Listen more than I speak.

     A member of the audience commented: "There's a reason God gave us two ears and one mouth."
Whistler said, "How are we going to have a conversation if you keep talking."

     Good listening makes for better communication, improves work performance, and improves interpersonal relationships.

     Jean cited the Dale Carnegie Course on Listening and the importance of good listening put forth in Carnegie's well known book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It is a fact that we all love to tell our own story. In fact commonly while others are talking, we stop listening and think about what we want to say next . But if we can resist that impulse to speak quickly or interject, the impulse will rise but then it will fall without speaking. And if a little time passes, we often see that what we were so pressured to say was not really that important in the scheme of the conversation. If people show a genuine interest in others, ask questions about them, listen to the other's responses and basically to their story, everyone loves the listeners

     So what are the qualities of good listening? Here are some of them:
Pay attention.
Let our own thoughts subside. If you have a meditation practice and skill, you can do this more easily.
Don't have your rebuttal all ready. Listen and don't think how to change the other person's mind.
Show you are listening (a nod, an "Uh, huh." smile, or gestures.)
Listening with the whole body but especially with your heart.
Your posture is open and inviting. You are leaning toward the other person slightly.
To encourage people in conversation, ask questions.
Observe the subtext; the body language may say something that you can see is not true.
Give positive  feedback. (Repeat what you heard, ask questions, don't judge, defer opinion, don't interrupt, allow person to finish. Be candid and open with response.)
In general have respect for others.

     We then did some listening practice. We divided into pairs. One person talked for 1.5 minutes about a small issue they have. Then for 1.5 minutes the other person repeated back what they had heard. Then for the next 1.5 minutes both discussed and shared thoughts.
Comments of the group about this listening practice:
1) There may be an urge to fix the problem. Some members thought, this might be a gender specific response. IE men may want to fix what seems to be wrong.
2) There was some discussion of the subtext -- the feelings behind the worry. It is important to have a self-awareness of how you are feeling about what is being said.
3) Good listening depends on maturity and lack of fear.
4) Some members of the group reported participating in listening exercises where they were only supposed to demonstrate "cow eyes" in response to the speaker. They were not to use nods, and other verbal or body gestures. On the other hand too many nods, and too many encouraging comments can be off putting as well. The consensus seemed to be that the correct way to respond in good listening is somewhere between these two extremes. The good speaker will respond to his listener's actions and adjust his presentation accordingly as will the listener.

     The author always likes to look up something 'scientific' about the topic of our meetings. Interestingly, good old Wikipedia has some very interesting things to say about listening. Here are two links -- the one to Wikipedia article and then a sub article that sheds further light on what exactly we are doing when we speak and when we listen.


     
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-sides_model

June 21, 2012: Bake Off 2

     Unfortunately, the freedom of having a BakeOff every week has led to what I regard as some difficulties. Readers, let me warn you right off the bat. This post is going to be an op-ed piece. In other words, it is my opinion about what took place and not representative of the groups consensus, though I know some members of the group feel like me. I thought long and hard about what to do about this morning on the blog. As most of you know, I am an allopathic MD and this view colors my vision of health care to the extreme. I decided that I could not let this presentation stand without comment. Hence this opinion piece.
     First, unfortunately, with no approval process through the group as a whole, with Sharleen monitoring the calendar and Todd providing somewhat careful approval about the topics that are presented , we had two people come to the meeting prepared to give presentations that might have taken the whole hour meeting easily. Neither of these individuals had gone through our "unofficial" planning and approval process as described above. That was one of the problems but I regard it as the more minor of the two problems.
     First Karen Kolberg who has presented the poetry of Hafiz to our group before has lost her job counseling substance abuse victims. She, like so many in this current economic crisis, has gone through a whirlwind of emotions related to this event. She chose to try to write herself out of this maelstrom and presented an original poem written in the rhyming fashion of Theodore Seuss Giesel (Dr. Seuss). It was humorous and well written, perhaps just a little too long, but otherwise enjoyable to hear. There could have been a discussion of the poem which would have elevated it further with the group's participation, but unfortunately because another member had brought another outside presenter we were obligated to proceed with that presentation. In fact, the slide projector was all set up for that presentation when Sky announced Karen would read her poem.
     The second presenter is my second major problem with the morning. That presenter said he had about a half hour presentation about something called Maximized Living, which Dr. F****, the presenter said was a worldwide company dedicated to totally revolutionize health care and turn it toward total prevention. What followed was basically an infomercial for Dr. F**** chiropractic clinic and its merger or adoption of the Maximized Living method of health care. In fact, Dr F**** is planning an open house to introduce this new merger and was present to promote this open house.
     The presentation was filled with two extremes of information. There was some information that is backed by science and evidence based practice. Everyone knows that exercise and good nutrition is basic to good health and is preventative of disease. Every chiropractor, osteopath, and MD would agree with some of these basic ideas even as presented.
     I looked up Maximized Living on the Internet and found the 5 essentials that Dr. F**** talked about. Here is the website: http://www.maximizedliving.com/HealthEssentials.aspx
     Number 1 is called Maximized Mind. This basically is some self counseling, trying to remove negative self fulfilling prophecies and statements about yourself and replacing them with affirmations that are more positive. I basically don't have any problem with Number 1.
     Number 2 is Maximizing Nerve supply. Now here is where I start to have a problem. Basically this Essential of the 5 is the basic belief in chiropractic which you know that most MDs do not believe in. It is presented in a very nice way, stating facts that the nervous system is very important to us and we can't live even a few seconds without a nervous system. However, the nice facts that most people could agree with then lead to the necessity of spinal manipulation to realign the spine to allow the organs of the body to function. Now I have had people get benefit from chiropractic adjustment and I have even referred people to chiropractors when I have determined that there is nothing medically seriously wrong with them and I have seen them get benefits. But I have chosen my chiropractors that I refer to very carefully because I know that they can work with allopathic medicine and we can achieve a good result. My problem is with chiropractors and some of the chiropractic teachings that claim that spinal adjustment can correct a vast number of medical problems, such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, when there is no evidence of this.  Stating or implying to patients with these diseases that the spinal adjustment or other processes undertaken in an office chiropractic without the treatments necessary in modern traditional allopathic medicine in my mind is very dangerous  And extreme chiropractors find a reason to adjust almost everyone who comes into their clinic even if just preventatively.  Now I don't have factual knowledge here, but Dr. F**** made a statement during his presentation that alarmed me and makes me think this office is one of those offices where I would not send my patients. That statement that slipped out during the presentation was something to this effect: (paraphrased): "Our office doesn't just treat young athletes. We have patients of many types and ages come in and we are able to help them with adjustments. Why just recently we treated a 2 week old baby with an adjustment."  Now, ask yourself what need would a 2 week old baby have of a spinal adjustment. And how would you monitor what you are accomplishing in this newborn infant? That was very scary to me.
     Number 3 of the 5 essentials has to do with nutrition. Again there are some facts here. Certainly our society has erred in its dietary practices with too many carbs and the wrong kind of fats. Most MDs would agree that we would all benefit from reduced refined sugar in our diet. But I am a little afraid that this diet for weight loss may be a little too extreme. It completely eliminates any fruits because there is fructose in them. And it eliminates whole grains. Instead calories come from organic grass fed meats, and fats including coconut oil and butter which we MDs believe is not good. It might be that weight loss is achieved by reducing carbohydrates much like the Atkins diet does. In a very low carbohydrate diet, the body breaks down fat and muscle for fuel and ketones are produced. When these reach a high level in the blood, they trigger anorexia (poor appetite) and even a little nausea. The Atkins diet even advises participants to test their urine for ketones to confirm that they are in that range where their appetite will be suppressed. This is basically how weight loss occurs. Perhaps that is what this weight loss diet is trying to achieve. However, the Atkins diet maintains this ketotic diet only for a set amount of time, I believe at the most 3 months. Then it is modified because the human body is not intended to be ketotic, (acidotic) permanently. There is no discussion on the website for the length of time that this restrictive diet would be followed. However, then on the website is the sales portion and I note that there are at least two products that Maximized Living wants to sell you -- one is a protein made from whey (a biproduct of milk) and the second are Omega fatty acids with what they say is a proper balance of Omega 6 fatty acids to Omega 3 fatty acids (4:1). I am not aware of any benefits to health or weight loss from these products and it always makes me a little suspicious when these are being sold on the side.
     Number 4 in the essentials is :Maximized oxygen and lean muscle. This is the program's attempt to promote exercise. Now no one could disagree with that, right? There are many factual statements in this section of the website. There seems to be an underpinning of science here. The different types of muscle fibers are discussed and there is an emphasis on trying to stimulate the growth of the quick twitch muscle fibers not the endurance muscle fibers. To attract people to this exercise program it states that goals of exercise can be reached by only 12 minutes of exercise per day. Now that doesn't sound like very much time, does it? Indeed as stated in this company's literature, the body does not care how long you exercise. You can gain the same benefit by exercising intensely for 15 minutes as you can by slow walking for an hour. So to get your exercise needs in 12 minutes you can imagine that this will be very intense exercise. Indeed, this program promotes exercise at 100% maximum heart rate for those 12 minutes. Now I know that even the astronauts are carefully monitored and advised to slow down and rest if their heart rate continues at 100% maximum for a period of time, and they are all in very good athletic shape. One member of the audience asked: "You are talking about a young healthy individual, right? What about an elderly person or someone with a heart condition?"
"Oh," said Dr. F****, "on the contrary. We use this protocol even for the elderly and those with heart problems. Oh, we would monitor them a little bit at first."
Again, the extremes in these between the lines statements are what frightens this modern traditional allopathic doctor.
     Number 5 essential: Detoxify. This one really goes off the deep end. Some statements in the website are certainly true. Our world does contain many toxins, the weed killers on our lawn, some chemicals that we use to clean our homes, etc. And some of us still smoke, and no doubt we have air pollution. But lumped in with these toxins are medications, medications that your doctor has prescribed. There is no statement that these medications might be necessary and that you should check with your doctor before stopping them. Even a statement slips in that (paraphrased) "Exercise has been shown to be as effective in treating depression as antidepressant medications." Then comes the sales pitch. Under this essential, you are encouraged to eliminate the meds you take, eat organically (fine) and avoid outdoor and indoor chemicals AND you must buy two products sold by Maximized Living and put them into your body. One is glutathione which is fairly harmless since it is an amino acid. But this ad claims that it will eliminate toxins from your body. I don't know the proof for that and would be interested in it. The second product is some unknown concoction that is claimed to detoxify your body, and help your own body functions to get rid of bad things you have ingested. It doesn't explain what this is and how it works. "So folks, don't trust your MD's medications, stop them and purchase our unknown product and take it into your body." Does this sound strange at all?

     Well, I feel better. In some ways I am sorry to subject the readers to this controversy. But I felt the need to counter this infomercial that we were subjected to. Again chiropractic has its place and can benefit people, but only when it works with allopathic medicine. This infomercial contained statements that were alarming to me and that implied this program will not work well with allopathy and may do harm. I think if we had known what this presentation was before hand the group would not have chosen to entertain it. I would welcome any comments that you might have about this post.

June 14, 2012: Summer Bake Off 1

I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.

I may not complete this last one

but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, around the primordial tower.

I've been circling for thousands of years

and I still don't know: am I a falcon,

a storm, or a great song?


--Rainer Maria Rilke--
(Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poem to God. Translated by Anita Barrows and Joana Macy)

A member of the group presented the above poem for discussion. It certainly is a beautiful poem and fits the venue perfectly, but for some reason the discussion did not take off.
Instead there were other discussions as listed below.

June 7, 2012: Bake Off

   Even though this was a Bake Off session, our discussion centered on just one topic for the most part. Someone presented the book pictured at the left, called The Spirit Level: Why greater equality makes society stronger by Richard Wilkerson and Kate Pickett. The book argues that there are "pernicious effects that inequality has on societies: eroding trust, increasing anxiety and illness (and) encouraging excessive consumption." It claims that for each of eleven different health and social problems: physical health, mental health, drug abuse, education, imprisonment, obesity, social mobility, trust and community life, violence, teenage pregnancies and child well-being, outcomes are significantly worse in more unequal rich countries.
   A multitude of graphs seem to indicate these conclusions, but critiques have said that the book emphasizes income inequality too much and doesn't look at the cultural effects of income differences. The Spirit Level conclusions are strongest in the area of health. The links between average health outcomes and income inequality do appear strong, and disturbing. Other critics have decried the books lack of statistical analyses. Another critic stated that only the correlation between infant mortality and income inequality stood up to statistical scrutiny.

   The book also concludes that it does not matter how a country gets to equality. It can be legislated, through socialization of the economic basis, or the economic basis of the country can exist equally through cultural influences. In either case, the data supports that more equality is associated with better outcomes in multiple broad areas.

   The group then discussed how this greater inequality translates into the degree of happiness in the country or American state. In the past, this group read and discussed Jonathan Haight's book on happiness, entitled The Happiness Hypothesis. Haight says that 5 items in our lives contribute positively to the presence of happiness. 1) Support group, 2)Flow in work, 3) Faith, 4) Noise level, 5) Having savings (ie not living hand to mouth.)

   What should be looked at really is the equality of the ability to achieve satisfaction -- not so much equality of income. It is the equal opportunity to find meaning or purpose in life. Inequality is also associated with a heavy negative government. A kind government seems to increase equality. An example is the Scandanavian countries where it almost seems as though they legislate equality. One member of the audience states that in Norway, there is no such thing as trespassing. You can go onto another's property as long as you don't bother the owner. Items are sold on the road based on an honor system. For example, one can stop and take some farm produce and leave the payment in a container. This is a common practice there.

   Members of the audience sited various experiences that either they or their family have had while volunteering in very poor countries. Haiti is an example that some people have had first hand experience with. Nicaragua also was described as extremely poor with very poor infrastructure. There is no potable water in many communities. School children have no shoes, no school supplies, or even desks. It is a male dominated society and even male children do not respect their mothers. Certainly there are major cultural problems in addition to the poverty. Dave talked about Dominican Republic when he was there some years ago. His friend enjoyed the culture there so in some cases volunteers become very charmed by the local people, even when poverty is a major characteristic of the local society. Vlad talked about Russia. He originates from Russia and can discuss how things are with first hand knowledge. He told the story of how a blacksmith in a small town was making good money and could afford to hire men to work for him to increase his business still further. But official collectivism meant that he should not be making money for himself and hiring people to work for him. If people did this, they were exiled to Siberia. But a community needs its blacksmith very much so that could not be done to the blacksmith. So instead the Russian authorities collectivized the blacksmith, solving the problem. It should be noted that we have mentioned another book that looks comparatively at happiness in various countries-- the book is entitled The Geography of Bliss by the NPR foreign correspondant, Eric Weiner.

   One discussant thought that we miss the boat if we focus only on income equality because we miss the spiritual. We need to find a way to help people to connect and join together. We need to empower people. Welfare does not do this. One avenue to do this is listening.

   Those who have read the book The Spirit Level recommended it to the rest of the group.

Schedule:

The Eternal Bake Off

Every  meeting during the Summer of 2012 will be a Bake Off

Bring some items to discuss -- something that you have read or seen, or some item that stimulated you spiritually. We will read it and it will be subjected to the power of this group. It will be baked and therefore changed so that the end result will be finished in a way that you will not believe until you see it.

June 21, Jean Hausman who is not usuall with us in the winter, will offer something for our summer Bakeoff. come and partake.

Discourse on the five Ways of Putting an End to Anger

Vladimir N, a member of our group whom we have not seen for a while sent me this ancient Buddhist parable. I thought it went nicely with some of our recent discussions of anger and what to do with it. 

Discourse on the Five Ways of Putting an End to Anger

ShareI heard these words of the Buddha one time when he was staying in the Anathapindika Monastery in the Jeta Grove near the town of Shravasti.

One day the Venerable Shariputra said to the monks, “Friends, today I want to share with you five ways of putting an end to anger. Please listen carefully and put into practice what I teach.”

The bhikshus agreed and listened carefully.

The Venerable Shariputra then said, “What are these five ways of putting an end to anger?

“This is the first way. My friends, if there is someone whose bodily actions are not kind but whose words are kind, if you feel anger toward that person but you are wise, you will know how to meditate in order to put an end to your anger.

“My friends, say there is a bhikshu practicing asceticism who wears a patchwork robe. One day he is going past a garbage pile filled with excrement, urine, mucus, and many other filthy things, and he sees in the pile one piece of cloth still intact. Using his left hand, he picks up the piece of cloth, and he takes the other end and stretches it out with his right hand. He observes that this piece of cloth is not torn and has not been stained by excrement, urine, sputum, or other kinds of filth. So he folds it and puts it away to take home, wash, and sew into his patchwork robe. My friends, if we are wise, when someone’s bodily actions are not kind but his words are kind, we should not pay attention to his unkind bodily actions, but only be attentive to his kind words. This will help us put an end to our anger.

“My friends, this is the second method. If you become angry with someone whose words are not kind but whose bodily actions are kind, if you are wise, you will know how to meditate in order to put an end to your anger.

“My friends, say that not far from the village there is a deep lake, and the surface of that lake is covered with algae and grass. There is someone who comes near that lake who is very thirsty, suffering greatly from the heat. He takes off his clothes, jumps into the water, and using his hands to clear away the algae and grass, enjoys bathing and drinking the cool water of the lake. It is the same, my friends, with someone whose words are not kind but whose bodily actions are kind. Do not pay attention to that person’s words. Only be attentive to his bodily actions in order to be able to put an end to your anger. Someone who is wise should practice in this way.

“Here is the third method, my friends. If there is someone whose bodily actions and words are not kind, but who still has a little kindness in his heart, if you feel anger toward that person and are wise, you will know how to meditate to put an end to your anger.

“My friends, say there is someone going to a crossroads. She is weak, thirsty, poor, hot, deprived, and filled with sorrow. When she arrives at the crossroads, she sees a buffalo’s footprint with a little stagnant rainwater in it. She thinks to herself, ‘There is very little water in this buffalo’s footprint. If I use my hand or a leaf to scoop it up, I will stir it up and it will become muddy and undrinkable. Therefore, I will have to kneel down with my arms and knees on the earth, put my lips right to the water, and drink it directly.’ Straightaway, she does just that. My friends, when you see someone whose bodily actions and words are not kind, but where there is still a little kindness in her heart, do not pay attention to her actions and words, but to the little kindness that is in her heart so that you may put an end to your anger. Someone who is wise should practice in that way.

“This is the fourth method, my friends. If there is someone whose words and bodily actions are not kind, and in whose heart there is nothing that can be called kindness, if you are angry with that person and you are wise, you will know how to meditate in order to put an end to your anger.

“My friends, suppose there is someone on a long journey who falls sick. He is alone, completely exhausted, and not near any village. He falls into despair, knowing that he will die before completing his journey. If at that point, someone comes along and sees this man’s situation, she immediately takes the man’s hand and leads him to the next village, where she takes care of him, treats his illness, and makes sure he has everything he needs by way of clothes, medicine, and food. Because of this compassion and loving kindness, the man’s life is saved. Just so, my friends, when you see someone whose words and bodily actions are not kind, and in whose heart there is nothing that can be called kindness, give rise to this thought: ‘Someone whose words and bodily actions are not kind and in whose heart is nothing that can be called kindness, is someone who is undergoing great suffering. Unless he meets a good spiritual friend, there will be no chance for him to transform and go to realms of happiness.’ Thinking like this, you will be able to open your heart with love and compassion toward that person. You will be able to put an end to your anger and help that person. Someone who is wise should practice like this.

“My friends, this is the fifth method. If there is someone whose bodily actions are kind, whose words are kind, and whose mind is also kind, if you are angry with that person and you are wise, you will know how to meditate in order to put an end to your anger.

“My friends, suppose that not far from the village there is a very beautiful lake. The water in the lake is clear and sweet, the bed of the lake is even, the banks of the lake are lush with green grass, and all around the lake, beautiful fresh trees give shade. Someone who is thirsty, suffering from heat, whose body is covered in sweat, comes to the lake, takes off his clothes, leaves them on the shore, jumps down into the water, and finds great comfort and enjoyment in drinking and bathing in the pure water. His heat, thirst, and suffering disappear immediately. In the same way, my friends, when you see someone whose bodily actions are kind, whose words are kind, and whose mind is also kind, give your attention to all his kindness of body, speech, and mind, and do not allow anger or jealousy to overwhelm you. If you do not know how to live happily with someone who is as fresh as that, you cannot be called someone who has wisdom.

“My dear friends, I have shared with you the five ways of putting an end to anger.”

When the bhikshus heard the Venerable Shariputra’s words, they were happy to receive them and put them into practice.

Madhyama Agama 25
(Corresponds with Aghata Vinaya Sutta
[Discourse on Water as an Example], Anguttara Nikaya 5.162)

May 31, 2012: Guenther Pohlmann Society Meeting

     Again in any month when there is a 5th Thursday, we call our meeting the Guenther Pohlmann Society Meeting, in memory of one of our founding members.
     We often discuss something Guenther had written, or just our memories of the extraordinary man. Sometimes his daughter, Heidi, brings in something -- one of his photos or something he wrote or had researched.
     On this occasion Heidi could not be with us, and she sent this quote:
     Philosophers ruin language,
     Poets ruin logic,
     But with human reasoning alone, 
    Man will never make it through life."


     Friedrich Von Schiller

This time we all reminesced about our recollections of Guenther, his contributions to these meetings, his ability to present an erudite discussion of almost any topic, his searching mind, his interest and expertise in photography, and his great ethics. We all recognized his love of his work in medical care; he was indeed "a doctor's doctor."

 Sky asked shy was he such a good man that he was, and why such a good doctor? The group consensus was that he continued to learn throughout his life and he was dedicated to the learning of others. He also managed to stay engaged. He was involved in so many things at the hospital that he had multiple retirements and yet he still was there every day until his death. He was a very ethical man and a gentle hero.

It was recalled that Guenther Pohlmann went to Iraq to the first Gulf War and directed the establishment of one of the major field hospitals there. He also was instrumental in instigating debriefing of veterans as they returned home from this war, a practice to try to reduce the frequency of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) in returning veterans.

Someone spoke of how interviewing patients is taught to medical students now. The students are given only 30 minutes to figure out the diagnosis. A "professional" patient who hired to do this acts as the "patient". This type of training puts an enormous amount of pressure on the interviewer and teaches the student that they cannot allow the patient to open up because there is a time pressure. We know that we doctors can't learn about a patient without a dialogue. Therefore objective medicine has had a diminution with these techniques.

Aristotle said: (paraphrased): It's more important to know the person with the disease than to know the disease itself.

Paul commented that 1/5 of kids who see him have nothing wrong with them. The parents are just worried about them and bring them in to him, as a doctor specializing in development. In my experience the actual ill patients in a primary care adult medicine practice is more like maybe 5% of visits. The care of the remaining 95% is really "The art of medicine."

We also have an announcement about an honor bestowed on one of our regular members:
Eric Weiner won an international award for his recent book, n the area of Self Hope, Journals and quotes for his book:
Words from the Heart: Practical Guide to Writing An Ethical Will.

 

May 24, 2012: "The Emotional Life of Your Brain" by Richard Davidson

     Gary S. our resident scholar again came to direct a discussion of a book that we have run in to through Gary's attendance at the recent "Mindfulness in Healthcare" seminar in Madison where Dr. Richard Davidson talked about some of the premises in his new book, released March 1, 2012.

     The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live --  and How You Can Change Them. by Richard J. Davidson PhD with Sharon Begley.

He speaks of six distinct emotional dimensions -- resilience, outlook, social intuition, self-awareness, sensitivity to context and attention. Each person's unique combination of these dimensions make up what Dr. Davidson calls their own "emotional style" or the essence of our personality and the reflection of how we live and respond to our experiences.

Dr. Davidson remains on the cutting edge of brain research that investigates understanding our emotions and co-authored this book with Sharon Begley, the former science writer for Newsweek. She herself has written a book called Change of Mind, Change of Body. 


From the following link you can access this book and read its Table of Contents, Introduction and I think even the first chapter.

http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Life-Your-Brain-Live/dp/1594630895

May 17, 2012: Notes on Mindfulness in Health Care Seminar by Gary S.

Gary attended a Seminar in Madison which provided a lot of gist for this discussion.

Below are Gary's actual notes provided to us to remind us of the great discussion.

Some Notes on the Mindfulness in Health Care Seminar (Notes written by Gary.)

  

Philip Chard was the 1st presenter. Some points of interest that he raised involved a change in the medical model from one dominated by a biological focus to one that includes a focus on spirituality. A mindful physician would have a greater sense of purpose, presence and empathy. Mindfulness includes the self-regulation of attention, conscious awareness of one's thoughts, feelings and experiences as they unfold in the present and curiosity, openness and acceptance of thoughts, feelings and experiences. The result is a beginner's mind, meaning that experiences are new.

Things that get in the way of mindfulness include ADHD, hurry sickness (this involves time being measured by the brain, it is a primary cause of anger), emotional hijacking (the amygdala rules and the prefrontal cortex is overloaded), burnout and the pursuit of “happiness,” as defined by our culture with a focus on there and then.

Mindfulness melds the existential states of doing and being. It allows us to do with an awareness of being fully aware. As you pay attention, you notice what you're doing and have the power to change it. It allows you to have a clearer sense of your life purpose by allowing the meaning you give to life as opposed to the meaning of life. It also allows for forgiveness starting with ourselves. It is about effort, not outcomes.

In practice, “The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.” You are in the present, aware of the now, resulting in compassion, acceptance, and flow. You can be with the other person resulting in an interpersonal dance. Rapport and empathy are created with presence and pacing. Rapport is largely dependent on body language, less so on voice and minimally on words.

Dr. Richard Davidson presented on the topic, “Change Your Brain by Transforming Your Mind.” He started out with the concept that neuroplasticity allows for the potential that well-being can be a skill. He noted that 5-10,000 brain cells are made each day. Stress impairs neurogenesis. The new concept of epi-genetics means that genes can be turned on and off depending on our interaction with the environment; therefore we can influence this turning on and off. Essentially, we can change our gene expression and influence our neuroplasticity. Meditation can lead to a change in gene expression within 8 hours. Studies have been done regarding the inflammatory response that are consistent with this.

He went on to discuss studies regarding the voluntary cultivation of compassion. He discussed his study of long-term meditators using functional MRI. He found that long-term meditators had a more persistent presentation of gamma oscillations (40 cps) on their EEG. This is associated with focused intent. One of the circuits modulated by meditation is the anterior insula, where a viscerotopic map is present, providing the brain and mind with knowledge of the body. He would present sounds of human suffering to the meditators while in the MRI and found that the insula would light up.

He thought it would be interesting to look at a group of people trained in compassion meditation for 2 weeks and compare them to a group trained in cognitive reappraisal for 2 weeks. The training involved contemplation and visualization of suffering and relief of a loved one, themselves, a stranger, a different person and all beings. The compassionate contemplatives were trained in the phrase:

                “May you be free from suffering. May you experience joy and peace.”

The contemplatives were instructed to feel this phrase, not merely repeat it cognitively. They were also instructed to notice their visceral sensations, especially in the heart. Indeed, differences were found in the MRIs of the contemplative group. There was lower activation of the amygdala. There was increased connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens. He felt this connectivity predicted increased altruism. However, he thought this connectivity might be lost unless you continue to practice meditation, i.e. use it or lose it.

He went on to discuss the fact that meditation leads to an increase in attention. He cited a quote by William James, “The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention over and over again is the very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is the master of him or herself if he have it not. An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par evcellence.” His study utilized something called the attentional blink test. This test takes advantage of the fact that we are more likely to miss parts of a pattern the more immediately they follow similar parts of the same pattern. Meditators have a much shorter attentional blink than non-meditators. Thus, meditation may be associated with a dramatic change in the capacity to pay attention. He did note that there was one study that applied this to ADHD.

He discussed briefly the role of meditation on peripheral biology. Meditation-based stress reduction (MBSR) is found to lead to enhanced immune response. Meditators developed higher titers to a flu vaccine than did non-meditators. Thus a change in the brain correlated to a change in the body. Meditators heal more quickly.

He briefly discussed the future of some of these findings. His hope is that these kinds of practices will be increasingly pursued. We might develop a science of virtuous qualities. We would incorporate the mind back in to medicine and take more responsibility for our health.

From an education standpoint he noted that the children have an even greater capacity for neuroplasticity. He discussed the implications for puberty occurring at a younger age, while the prefrontal cortex continues to develop until the age of 20 or so. This leaves adolescents increasingly vulnerable, as hormones flourish while brain is not done developing. His sense is that meditation could be a very helpful bridge to this increasing discrepancy.

The advantages of meditation in social emotional learning were cited. There have been 207 studies of social emotional learning. There were increases in positive attitudes, decreases in bullying, decreases in emotional distress, and improvement in tests and grades. They have developed a preschool children program in Madison and have begun taking it into the Madison schools. They have an 8 week program that they are working on. Very hopeful.

On Saturday morning, we spent much of the time listening to David Rakel M.D. He has put together a book on integrative medicine and written several papers. He spent time talking about the mindful encounter in medicine. It allows us to pause and be self-aware. It allows us to have a presence and be more authentic, using our child's eye. It impacts our perception, allowing for meeting and mystery. Much of our life is habitual, and mindfulness helps address this. The key part of mindfulness again is the concept of forgiveness. He cited a quote that, “Forgiveness is giving up hope of a better past.” And again, this is because we are in the present.

He cited a little bit of research about neural protein Y (NPY). They're looking at increases in the production of this protein in relation to the stress response. It leads to craving of carbohydrates to give us energy and causes an increase in weight. He noted that the number 1 emotion associated with heart disease is hostility.

We live life as we are, not as life is. Mindfulness allows us to live life as it is and start to see the mystery and awe of life and the people that we see. It allows us to carve out time to see people as they are.

Subsequently he cited 4 ingredients of a healing in counter that include an emotionally charged relationship with a helping person, a healing setting, an explanation, ritual, procedure, or plan that allows for belief in action.

He went on to discuss the power of touch. He noted that, as a doctor, who you are trumps the power of a pill. An enhanced visit with the doctor includes a positive prognosis, empathy, empowerment, connection and education. If a patient perceives empathy, studies have shown an improved immune response. They have found an increase in interleukin 8 leading to increases in neutrophils. He cited a study that revealed that empathy is the best treatment for the common cold.

He cited a study comparing the use of the medical system in 3 groups: one group that regularly followed a moderate exercise routine over 8 weeks, another group that was trained in MBSR for 8 weeks and a control group. Interestingly the exercise group showed the greatest reduction in cold symptoms but had more M.D. visits and used more medication. The mindfulness group also had a reduction in cold symptoms but fewer M.D. visits and medication use. The mindfulness group utilized the medical system about half as much as the exercise group, while the control group utilized the medical model 4 times as much as the mindfulness group.

Unfortunately, studies also revealed that medical school leads to a decrease in empathy. He showed a graph of changes in empathy during medical school, noting that women come in to medical school with greater empathy than men, but leave medical school with the same empathy that men had when they entered medical school. (Of course, men really decrease in empathy during medical school as well.) He went on to comment that the best way to change a woman into a man is to send them to medical school.

He closed the morning talking about guided imagery and how it may be used in things like enuresis (locked gate, how do you open it), and the fear of the dark (a protector). The session closed with some guided imagery.

All in all, this was a wonderful seminar.

May 10, 2012: Mindfulness in Children by Paul N.

   Paul N. presented to us today about his encounter with Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child, 2010. Paul heard her speak at a conference and became interested in her theories.
   Susan Greenland had worked as a lawyer for a TV station. But then something made her move to the country with her family. Her husband Seth Greenland was a novelist. Eventually Susan became interested in mindfulness training for children and wrote this book. She calls herself a recovering lawyer. She admits that her book is largely anecdotal, but she plans on coming out with a manual which will be more practical for use in the classroom.
   Susan Greenland also founded the group Inner Kids which has put classroom time into Los Angeles area schools teaching mindfulness training to kids from K-12, with increasing time and complexity as children grow older. Now it is also being used in Singapore schools, and is being heavily studied in both locations to determine if children progress more rapidly in school, if they have better control of emotions and other parameters. Inhibition control and cognition seem a little better in children who have been taught a 8 week module unit on mindfulness. It is know that our train changes and especially a lot in child as they grow. Synaptic connections increase even in adults and certainly are very changeable in children.  We know that myelination is not complete until the age of 25. Pruning (the cutting back of cells in the child's brain) and even in the uterus continues strongly throughout childhood.
   This program is explained in more detail for those who want to delve into the methods further. Here is the link:  http://www.susankaisergreenland.com/inner-kids.html.
   There are also a lot of video clips on this site explaining and demonstrating mindfulness for children. It is located at the above website under clips:
http://www.susankaisergreenland.com/clips.html
   Hit read more for further details, and also for the notes that Paul provided us for this session of our Spirit Mind Body Group meeting.