Monthly Archives: April 2010
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Posted: April 30, 2010Categories: Inspiring StoryRead more »
This note arrived last week, and it might strike some as odd, but this is definitely not the first time we’ve heard these sentiments. There’s something to be said for having your heart cracked wide open by the love, care and appreciation that can surround a person who knows he/she is dying. Read on:
I am a 69 year old man, in the hospital at the moment getting 5 days of chemotherapy treatment for another recurrence of a cancer that I’ve been fighting for 5 years. Realistically speaking, I probably have less than 6 months to live.
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Posted: April 30, 2010Categories: Surgery, Pain, Kids & Teens, Injuries, Surgery Research, Pain Research, Kids & Teens Research, Injuries, Hot ResearchRead more »
Researchers from the Division of Child Psychiatry at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital evaluated the effectiveness of teaching guided imagery to acutely injured pediatric patients in the PICU, as compared to a one-on-one inquiry about pain-related experiences.
Forty-four hospitalized children and adolescents were assigned to one of two intervention groups, the imagery arm (N = 24) or the inquiry arm (N = 20). Pain was assessed pre- and post-intervention using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale and a 0-10 Likert pain rating scale, while the Pediatric Trauma Score was given to assess the severity of each child's injuries. -
Posted: April 28, 2010Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
Hello again, everyone.
We heard from a lot of you - on the blog, on Facebook, by email and phone - about your displeasure (if not downright outrage) at the way posttraumatic stress is being portrayed as incurable in recent AP and NYT articles, and on a couple of radio interviews, too.It really is misinformation (well-intended but ignorant) - and you all inspired me to submit a rant on Huffington Post, which you can find here. Please check it out and add your 2 cents worth under the piece - it all adds up and has a real, cumulative impact, and that’s what we want. In fact, these pieces seem to spread out on other news feeds and blogs that are read by military and veterans organizations, and yes, even branches of the armed services. So please have at it, people! It makes a difference.
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Posted: April 23, 2010Categories: Inspiring StoryRead more »
This parable of the fern and the bamboo is a nice teaching story for anyone who’s discouraged with how things are going. We got it courtesy of Beyond Blue, that wonderful blog on Beliefnet designed to help with depression. (Warning to atheists, agnostics & feminists: this story is formatted as a conversation with a traditional, male God.)Here’s what she writes:
Because I'm needing some extra encouragement and inspiration these days, I thought I'd publish this lovely parable that my guardian angel Ann sent me awhile back. -
Posted: April 23, 2010Read more »
Question:
Hi. I have ptsd and I bought the audio imagery about Ease Grief. It’s been a week that I am using it and... i don’t know what’s going on, I keep crying and I feel a lot of anxiety. I don’t have the possibility to see a therapist here in Hawaii, I looked but no expert in the matter. I don’t know, I just feel like my feelings are all messed up and I can’t control the cry. Is this normal?
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Posted: April 23, 2010Read more »
Researchers from Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Lillehammer, Norway, performed a pilot study on 31 women with fibromyalgia, to see whether Ayurvedic treatment improved their condition.
Subjects each received an individually designed Maharishi Vedic physiological purification therapy, personal advice on daily routines and diet (including food intolerance), based on Ayurvedic principles. In addition, four agreed to instruction in TM (Transcendental Meditation) for help with stress, pain management and personal development. Ayurvedic herbal food products were provided for home treatment. -
Posted: April 23, 2010Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
Well, last week I finished recording the new Spiritual Guide imagery and then kept my fingers crossed while awaiting Bruce the Engineer’s verdict on post-editing sound quality. I’d taken some extreme measures to ensure my voice would work OK. This entailed imbibing gallons of water, sleeping with a gigantic humidifier, avoiding dairy and wheat, letting up on the coffee and avoiding wine altogether; and liberally spraying my throat with the Divine Martha Howard’s Chinese medicine (a dark green dust made from mold grown on the rind of watermelons… I kid you not. Could I make this stuff up?)
Well, it worked. Got the thumbs-up from Bruce. So now it’s onward to mixing the music with Bruce and Steve while Cindy’s team whips up the packaging. Now I can focus on writing the new imagery for heartbreak, abandonment and betrayal. Thanks to your generous feedback and insights, I’ve got everything I need to roll. -
Posted: April 16, 2010Categories: Yoga, Qigong, Wellness, Stress Relief, General Wellness, Yoga, Stress Relief Research, Hot ResearchRead more »
Pioneer guided imagery researchers from Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio, examined whether the practice of hatha yoga can reduce stress responses, as indicated by measurable inflammatory and endocrine shifts in the body immediately after a session. This study compares the reactions of novice and expert yoga practitioners before, during, and after a restorative hatha yoga session, as compared to two control conditions. -
Posted: April 16, 2010Read more »
The most viral answer to any question I’ve ever offered - it’s been all over the internet several times over in the past few years - was the answer I gave to “Why do nice girls fall for bad boys?”.
I answered this in my erstwhile capacity as special mental health professional advisor to that plucky superhero, Breakup Girl (“When it’s over, she’ll be right over”), created by the ingenious Lynn Harris. I was reminded of my old gig when I began working on the new CD for heartbreak, abandonment and betrayal.I suspect one reason this was such a popular Q and A was the way Lynn so brilliantly translated my hypotheses into her own dazzling, zippy, GenX prose. Here it is, one more time. Breakup Girl writes:
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Posted: April 16, 2010Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
Lynne Newman’s wonderful, new CD, Divine Alchemy, is flying out of the warehouse (not to mention our download server) and, as you can see, getting rave reviews.
Like Lynne’s other work, this guided meditation comes from some kind of special higher wisdom channel she’s got, and it’s pretty inspired and profound. This program addresses transforming your life, transcending difficulties, connecting with powerful spiritual sources and - um - helping the rest of humanity. (Lynne does not mess with the small stuff.) This is big medicine and listeners immediately feel the authenticity and power of its unique mojo.
