Beware the Pure Spirit, Let the Flesh Instruct the Mind

My weekly letter to my class. Last night's class was a full one, trying to tackle the topic of Christianity as a faith and health care related topics that HC folks might find useful in dealing with clients. On top of that we had several representatives from the local Seventh Day Adventist congregation here in Johnson City who shared with our class. "So did anyone go out of class last night finding some new found energy to go “vegan” or did you just make your way to the nearest carnivore outlet? I was a mix of the two, finding a spot to have a nice salad, with grilled chicken splayed out atop the salad like the centerfold of a nudie magazine. Adventists always give me room to pause and think about how I eat, what I eat, and ways to better myself because of their influence. If anything, this group helps me to be more mindful of what I am eating. Eating should be more than just shoveling in copious amounts of food; I know that I should be more conscious of what I am puttin...

I had my class do a creative exercise last week, as we had been talking extensively about the Jewish Decalogue, I wanted them to come up with 10 Commandments of their own. They could not do a rehashing of the Jewish law, and it was open to any and all things. Here are some of the better ones that they crafted, and one that I wish I could have shared with the class because I found it extremely funny and naughty: —   Political beliefs shall be kept to thyself (I’m guilty of not doing this, but it has gone crazy lately) —   Your life writes a story. Decide what story you want it to tell. —   Do not go to the grocery store with your huge buggy and spend 15 minutes trying to figure out which can of soup to get while blocking anyone else from passing. —   You must put 5% of every paycheck into a saving account. You can access your savings when you turn 65. —   Don’t be afraid to be who you truly are —   Thou shall not chew with your mouth open ...

The following is my reflective writing to my class for the week: Well there you have it, those identifying as Jehovah Witness do not have a death wish.  They don’t want to be martyrs for their faith. They love life and want to live. Contrary to what many of us might have thought beforehand.  I enjoy hearing from these folks in our class. They come well prepared and you can tell that they want you to have specific information relating to health care practices. Good questions from you as well and I found the answer to my question, that is, do they engage in civic exercises such as voting. Loud and clear you and I heard that they (as a group) do not participate in this “worldly” activity. Their interpretation of their religious text tells them to be separate from the world. It was so nice to hear about life from their perspective. So it goes…the election process is FINALLY over. Can we all just breathe a collective sigh of relief? It’s done and that’s that. I left campus, w...

New River Gorge, Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Virginia    I am rooted here; this is my special place in the world. This is home.

Last night my class and I were fortunate enough to hear from three ladies who practice at Johnson City's own Appalachian Dharma and Meditation Center. Marina Munjal and her guests led my class in a simple meditation centering on the breath and then a lovely conversation for the remainder of the class. Here's what I shared with my class today about our shared experience: "Last night we took a journey down the path of what was for many of you a paradigm shift. It was a brief examination into another worldview, a glimpse into how many people in world perceive things to be. This in turn shapes how they live their lives and how they interact with others. This may present itself in something as simple as the articles of clothing worn for protection (or good luck), choosing to be vegetarian, or even wanting to limit the amount of pain medication for palliative care in order to have a clear and focused mind. Personally, I don’t find these things odd or strange. It sparks so...

Many of you are aware that I have had some ongoing medical issues for some time. I want to thank everyone for their concern and encouragement. I’ll admit to being somewhat of a “baby” in this manner. I’m sure to be adding to the stereotype of men not being able to handle illness without someone around to care for them. What adds to this is that for most of my life, physically I have felt fine and my body adapts to most stressors and I come away better for it. These past months have thrown me, my body has not adjusted and come bouncing back to relative health. This has just been another reminder of wasted youthful days and the impermanence of my body and my time here. Some days have been better than others and I vacillate between openness and disclosure and then at other times shutting down physically and emotionally.  I've not felt well for some time and I have become frustrated with the process of discovering what is going on with my body. To counteract  any rumor...

Nice new crop to choose from. Get'em while they're hot....