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She said, “The Sun has been my faithful Lover for millions of years.

Whenever I offer my body to him

Brilliant Light pours from his heart.

Thousands then notice my happiness

And delight in pointing toward my beauty.

Hafiz, Is it true that our destiny

Is to turn into Light Itself?”

And I replied,

Dear Moon, now that your love is maturing,

We need to sit together close like this more often

So I might instruct you how to become

Who you are!

Hafiz.

Plant

So that your own heart

Will grow.

Love

So God will think,

“Ahhhhh,

I got kin in that body!

I should start inviting that soul over

For coffee and rolls.”

Sing

Beacause this is a food

Our starving world

Needs.

Laugh

Because that is the purest

Sound.

Hafiz.

Thought for 2012

The moon came to me last night

With a sweet question.

She said,

“The Sun has been my faithful lover

For millions of years.

Whenever I offer my body to Him

Brilliant Light pours from His heart.

Thousands then notice my happiness

And delight in pointing

Toward my beauty.

Hafiz,

Is it true that our destiny

Is to turn into Light

Itself?”

And I replied,

Dear Moon,

Now that your love is maturing,

We need to sit together

Close like this more often.

So I might instruct you

How to become

Who you

Are!

Have fun and try this experiment for Seven Days

• Hug your children/spouse/parent each time you meet up around the home.
• Smile at and/or say ‘hello’ to 7 people unknown to you.
• Encourage the unknown person to pass on the smile/hello to 7 other unknown people.
• Choose the 7 people from different age groups - children to the elderly.
• Choose the 7 people from different cultures.
• How do you feel at the end of the day?   How do you feel at the end of the week?
• You may like to try the experiment for another week!

My country is for love

so say its valleys

where ancient rivers flow

the full circle of life

under the proud eye of birds

adorning the sky

My country is for peace

so says the veld

where reptiles caress

its surface

with elegant motions

glittering in their pride

My country

is for joy

so talk the mountains

with baboons

hopping from boulder to boulder

in the majestic delight

of cliffs and peaks

My country is for health and wealth

see the blue of the sea

and beneath

the jewels of fish

deep under the bowels of soil

hear

the golden voice

of a miner’s praise

for my country

My country

is for unity

feel the millions

see their passion

their hands are joined together

there is hope in their eyes

We shall celebrate.

SANDILE DIKENI from Planting Water

ONLY BREATH

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu,

Buddhist, sufi, or zen.  Not any religion

or cultural system.   I am not from the East

or the West, not out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not

composed of elements at all.   I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or the next,

did not descend from Adam and Eve or any

origin story.   My place is placeless, a trace

of the traceless.   Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two

worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that

breath breathing human being.

~

There is a way between voice and presence

where information flows.

In disciplined silence it opens.

With wandering talk it closes.

From Rumi The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne.

SHACK CHIC

1.

Victory

To build a shack

and call it home.

2.

Houses are built on foundations

with walls and roof.

Homes are built with things

much deeper and less concrete.

3.

There are many ways to make music.

Sometimes it is a deep blue against the wall,

a bright yellow against fear,

another red to tribute imagination,

hopefully an orange to earth bad vibes

and my black voice

saying my life is beautiful.

4.

Temples are never built in one day.

But mine,this shack, was built in half a day.

5.

Nietzsche said:

“Hope is the ultimate form of defeat.”

We still raise ourselves,

somehow,

higher than hope.

SANDILE DIKENI from Planting Water

THE SUMMER DAY

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean -

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down -

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver New and selected Poems Vol. 1

SOME QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT ASK

Is the soul solid, like iron?

Or is it tender and breakable, like

the wings of a moth in the beak of the owl?

Who has it, and who doesn’t?

I keep looking around me.

The face of the moose is as sad

as the face of Jesus.

The swan opens her white wings slowly.

In the fall, the black bear carries leaves into the darkness.

One question leads to another.

Does it have a shape?  Like an iceberg?

Like the eye of a hummingbird?

Does it have one lung, like the snake and the scallop?

Why should I have it, and not the anteater

who loves her children?

Why should I have it, and not the camel?

Come to think of it, what about the maple trees?

What about the blue iris?

What about all the little stones, sitting alone in the moonlight?

What about roses, and lemons, and their shining leaves?

What about the grass?

Mary Oliver New and Selected Poems Vol. 1

LOST

Stand still.   The trees ahead and bushes beside you

Are not lost.   Wherever you are is called here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes.   Listen.   It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost.   Stand still.   The forest knows

Where you are.    You must let it find you.

David Wagoner copyright 1976 from The House of Belonging Poems by DAVID WHYTE.

Soul Communion: The Ultimate Medicine
Who Am I?

I have a body, but I am not my body.

I can see and feel my body,
and what can be seen and felt is not the true Seer.
My body may be tired or excited,
sick or healthy, heavy or light,
but that has nothing to do with my inward I.
I have a body, but I am not my body.

I have desires, but am not my desires.
I can know my desires, and what can be known is not the true Knower .
Desires come and go, floating through my awareness,
but they do not affect my inward I.
I have desires, but I am not desires.

I have emotions, but I am not my emotions.
I can feel and sense my emotions,
and what can be felt and sensed is not the true Feeler .
Emotions pass through me,
but they do not affect my inward I.
I have emotions, but I am not emotions.

I have thoughts, but I am not my thoughts.
I can know and intuit my thoughts,
and what can be known is not the true Knower.
Thoughts come to me and thoughts leave me,
but they do not affect my inward I.
I have thoughts, but I am not my thoughts.

I am what remains, a pure center of awareness,
an unmoved witness of all these
thoughts, emotions, feelings, and desires.

- Bruce Burger - Esoteric Anatomy - The Body As Consciousness

]]> http://www.caduceus-health.com/poetry/poetry/feed/ http://www.caduceus-health.com/news/caduceus-website-now-live/ http://www.caduceus-health.com/news/caduceus-website-now-live/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:51:21 +0000 Clare http://www.caduceus-health.com/?p=50

Music, used imaginatively, can help reduce pain perception in children after surgery

Researcher Joke Bradt worked individually with paediatric patients to create live music that, in their perception, matched their pain.   Once this was achieved, he switched into playing music that each child had already identified as healing.   Children in the control condition just received standard care.   Results supported the effectiveness of the intervention as a postoperative pain management technique for children and adolescents.    [Music and Medicine, 2010 2,3,150-7] Source: Human Givens Vol.17 No.4 2010

Children who bully at school

are likely to bully siblings at home as well, according to the findings of Italian researchers.   All the 195 children, aged between 10 and 12, who took part in the study had a sibling no more than four years older or younger than them.   Children completed questionaires that asked about bullying and being bullied.   Children with older brothers were found to be the most victimised group.   More boys bullied siblings than girls.   Children who bullied siblings were likely to bully their peers, while victims at home were also likely to be victimised at school.

[British Journal of Developmental Psychology, in press.   Source: Human Givens Vol.17.No.1 2010.]

Seeing another child being bullied can be just as psychologically harmful as being on the receiving end of bullying oneself.   in over 2,000 state-school children, aged 12-16, bullying was reported by 20 per cent, being bullied by 34 per centand seeing bullying by 65 per cent.   Seeing bullying was associated with significant anxiety and depression and with using alcohol more than either victims or bullies did.

[School Psychology Quarterly, 24, 4, 211-23.]

People who eat a lot of processed and high-fat foods

may be at greater risk of depression, whereas eating a ‘whole food’ diet with plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depressive symptoms in middle age.   The findings emerged from research carried out at University College London with 3,486 participants (average age 55) from the Whitehall II Study - a longitudinal study of people who work in civil service departments in London.

[British Journal of Psychiatry, 2009, 195, 408-13.] Source: Human Givens Vol. 17.No.1 2010.

Psychological abuse,

unlike physical and sexual abuse, is not screened for in pregnant women during ante-natal care, yet it is an important determinant of postnatal depression, according to a Brazilian study.   Women who reported being humiliated, intimidated, insulted or threatened by their partners during pregnancy (over a quarter of those studied) were significantly more likely to suffer postnatal depression, and the greater the psychological abuse, the higher the risk.   An editorial in the journal that published the findings states that the problem is unlikely to be confined to Brazil.  [Lancet, 2010, 376,903-10] Source: Human Givens Vol. 17, No.4 2010

Obsessive-Compulsive disorder

A woman has described how her symptoms of OCD disappeared when she lived in Spain and spent time in Ireland but reappears when she is back home in England.   “I find Irish friendliness very healing,” writes Kaarina Elizabeth.  “That same sense of community kept me well in Spain where I felt supported.   Everywhere, at shops and bus stops, people talked to me.   Neighbours invited me for lunch.   People thrived on showing hospitality to unexpected guests.   Society came first;  the individual second.   And my OCD melted away, because feeling loved is the best cure for mental distress, whose roots so often lie in feeling unloved.”

[Openmind, 2010, 162,15]    Source: Human Givens Vol.17 No. 2, 2010.

Exercise training

significantly reduces anxiety among sedentary patients with chronic illness, according to the findings of a systematic review of 40 papers published between 1995 and 2007.    Sessions lasting at least 30 minutes and programmes lasting at least 3, but no more than 12 weeks resulted in the largest improvements in anxiety.       [Archives of Internal Medicine, 2010, 170,4, 321-31.    Source: Human Givens Vol.17 No.2 2010]

HIGH INTENSITY EXERCISE

is not only safe for patients undergoing chemotherapy for advanced cancer: it can actually reduce fatigue and improve vitality, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and general wellbeing, a randomised controlled trial at two university hospitals in Copenhagen found;  269 patients with cancer (excluding those with brain or bone metastases) engaged in high-intensity cardiovascular and resistance training, relaxation and body-awareness training, and massage for nine hours weekly over six weeks.

[British Medical Journal, 2009, 339,b4310.   Source: Human Givens Vol.17, No. 2 2010]

People who smile with their eyes and their mouth are likely to live longer than

those who tend not to smile or smile with the mouth only…..To the extent that smile intensity reflects an underlying emotional disposition, the results are congruent with those of other studies demonstrating that emotions have a positive relationship with mental health, physical health and longevity.

[Psychological Science, 2010, doi:10.1177/0956797610363775.  Source: Human Givens Journal Vol.17.No.3.2010]

Study: Women Who Get Dental Care Have Lower Risk OF Heart Disease

A new study by a University of California, Berkeley, researcher could give women a little extra motivation to visit the dentist more regularly.  The study suggests that women who get dental care reduce their risk of heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems by at least one-third.

The analysis, which used data fromnearly 7000 people aged 44 to 88 years enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, did not find a similar benefit for man.

Published recently in the journal Health Economics, the study compared people who went to the dentist during the previous 2 years with those who did not. “Many studies have found associations between dental care and cardiovascular disease, but our study is the first to show that general dental care leads to fewer heart attacks, strokes, and other adverse cardiovascular outcomes in a causal way,” said study lead author Timothy Brown, assistant adjunct professor of health policy and management at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health.

Data from the Health and Retirement Study had been collected every 2 years from 1996 to 2004. This longitudinal study followed the same individuals over time, and each biennial survey included questions on whether subjects had visited the dentist and whether they had experienced a heart attack, stroke, angina, or congestive heart failure during the previous 2 years. Deaths from heart attacks or strokes also were included in the analysis. The study took into account other risk factors, such as alcohol and tobacco use, high blood pressure, and body mass index.

The study authors suggest that for dental care to have a protective effect, it should occur early in the development of cardiovascular disease. The researchers did not have data on the type of procedures used during the dental visits, but they pointed to other studies that indicated three-fourths of older adult dental visits involved preventive services, such as cleaning and fluoride and sealant treatments.

For a happy retirement,

strong social networks may be more important than having children and grandchildren around, according to University of Greenwich researchers, who analysed questionaires completed by 279 retirees across the UK.   Team leader Dr. Oliver Robinson said, “Our most surprising finding was that retirees who had children and grandchildren were no more satisfied with life that the retirees without them.   Being active in social groups was strongly correlated with higher levels of life satisfaction, however.”

Participating in artistic activities such as creative writing, photography and dance enhances psychological wellbeing, particularly in the elderly and in people with mental health problems, a study of six community arts projects in the north west of England has found.   Dr. Asiya Siddiquee and colleagues from the Research Institute for Health and Social Change at Manchester Metropolitan University found a significant increase in mental health and improvements in anxiety and depression.   Participants’ feelings of autonomy, being capable of controlling their lives, and sense of purpose in life were also significantly enhanced.

Children who talk frequently with their fathers about “things that matter” are less likely to experiment with smoking during early adolescence than those who don’t.    This is the finding of a three-year study by Dr. James White from Cardiff University, which involved 3,495 young people, aged between 11 and 15, who participate in the British Youth Panel Survey.   The young people were asked about the frequency of communication with their parents, arguments with family members and whole-family meals.   After three years, the responses of children who had remained non-smokers were compared with the responses of those who said they had experimented with smoking at some point.  Recognised risk factors for smoking, such as age, sex, household income, parental monitoring and parental smoking, were all taken into account.   Results indicated that one of the strongest protective factors for reducing the risk of experimenting with smoking in early adolescence was how often fathers talked with their children, both boys and girls, about “things that mattered”.   The frequency of family arguments and family meals did not have a significant effect.

[Human Givens Vol.17 No. 2 2010 p5]

The Power of Imagination.

More evidence of just how positive powerful imagination can be: students asked to imagine talking to an elderly stranger and finding out something interesting about them subsequently showed more positive attitudes towards elderly people in general than did a control group.   In a second study, non-Muslim participants who imagined a positive conversation with a Muslim stranger subsequently showed more positive attitudes towards Muslims in general.   (British Journal of Social Psychology, 2009.)

Living Abroad

Those who live abroad for a while tend to be more creative thinkers, claims a new study.   Students who had lived abroad were better able to come up with creative solutions to tasks and were also more likely to problem solve correctly when asked first to think about a time when they had lived abroad than students asked first to think about travelling abroad or the last time they had been to a supermarket.    The researchers suggest that being required to adapt to an alien culture might enhance creativity.   (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2009, 96, 5, 1047-61)  Source: Human Givens journal Vol 16 No. 3 2009

Good News for Middle Aged Coffee Drinkers!

People who drink three to five cups of coffee a day (termed moderate coffee drinkers), at least from middle age on, are less likely to suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease than those who drink little or no coffee, according to the findings of a study of over 1,400 people aged between 44 and 58 and then followed up 21 years later.   (Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2009, 16, 1, 85-91) Source: Human Givens Journal Vol. 16 No. 2009.

Sweeteners shown to reduce kidney function.

A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology found that adult women who drink at least two diet sodas a day experience a 30% drop in kidney function over a decade.   Findings by Drs Julie Lin and Gary Curhan of Brigham and Womens’s Hospital in Boston indicate that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose are to blame in the rapid degeneration of glomerular filtration rates in the kidneys of those consuming excessive amounts of artificially sweetened, diet sodas.

A 2005 study conducted by Dr. Morando Soffritti of the prestigious European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences and the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Centre confirmed what independent scientists revealed over 30 years ago: aspartame consumption leads to various illness and disease including cancer, nerve damage, seizures and premature death.

Similarly, sucralose, a chlorocarbon popularly marketed as the artificial sweetener derived from sugar, has be implicated in severe chronic illnesses including brain and nervous system disorders, migraines, cancers, and reduced immune system.

According to Dr. Soffrittis’s research group, most studies alleging the safety of artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose fail to use internationally recognized ‘good laboratory practices’ for conducting carcinogenicity bioassays and thus arrive at faulty, corporate-controlled outcomes.

Preferable options include natural foods like raw (Manuka) honey and raw agave nectar, which are healthy, enzyme-rich sweeteners that work well in moderation.   Natural stevia extract is another excellent option as it contains no sugar and no calories; it is completely safe and suitable for those with a diabetic condition or for those wishing to cut sugar intake.

More information on Dr. Soffritti’s study, see www.holisticmed.com/aspartame and www.janethull.com

Smoking in pregnancy and psychosis

Here’s another reason not to smoke in pregnancy.   It puts children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms in their teenage years, accoding to findings extrapolated from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Researchers from the universities of Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham and Warwick examined data from 6,356 children who had participated in an interview about psychotic-like symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, when they were 12 years old.   They found that just over 11% of the children had suspected or definite symptoms of psychosis and that smoking during pregnancy was associated with increased risk.   The researchers also observed a ‘dose-response effect’: the more heavily mothers smoked, the higher the risk of psychotic symptoms.

The study also examined whether alcohol use and cannabis use during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of psychotic symptoms.   Drinking during pregnancy was associated with increased psychotic symptoms in children of mothers who had drunk more that 21 units of alcohol a week in early pregnancy.   Only a few mothers in the study sad that had smoked cannabis during pregnancy, and this was not found to have any significant association psychotic symptoms.

The reasons for the link between maternal tobacco use and psychotic symptoms are uncertain.   The researchers suggest that exposure to tobacco in the womb may have an indirect impact by affecting children’s impulsivity, attention or cognition.   It is estimated that between 15 and 20% of women in the UK continue to smoke during their pregnancy.

Dr Stanley Zammit, a psychiatrist at Cardiff University and lead author of the study, said, “In our cohort, approximately 19% of adolescents who were interviewed had mother who smoked during pregnancy.   If our results are non-biased and reflect a causal relationship, we can estimate that about 20% of adolescents in this cohort would not have developed psychotic symptoms if their mothers had not smoked.”

Zammit, S, Thomas, K et al (2009).   Maternal tobacco, cannabis and alcohol use during pregnancy and risk of adolescent psychotic symptoms in offspring.   British Journal of Psychiatry, 294-300. Source: Human Givens Volume 16, No 4 2009.  www.humangivens.com

Overweight

Being overweight in middle age increases the risk of dementia later in both men and women, according to the findings of a prospective study of 1,152 participants, assessed between the ages of 45 to 65 in 1963, 312 of whom were later diagnosed with either Alzheimer’s  disease or vascular dementia.   (International Journal of Obesity, 2009, 33, 8, 893-8.)

Keeping Active

Keeping active well into old age may be a lifesaver.   Researchers assessed over 1,800 people born in 1920 and 1921 and found that, compared with those who exercised for fewer than four hours a week, people who engaged in activities such as jogging or swimming for four hours a week or who walked for at least an hour every day were 12 per cent less likely to die between the ages of 70 and 78, 15%  less likely to die between the ages of 78 and 85 and 17 per cent less likely to die between the ages of 85 and 88.   They were also more likely to remain independent.   (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2009, 169, 16, 1476-83.)

Coronary Heart Disease

Anger and hostility are associated with the development of coronary heart disease in healthy people and with a worse outcome in those who already have it, a meta-analytic review of 44 studies has confirmed.   The harmful effects of anger and hostility were found to be greater in men than women.   (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2009, 53, 11, 936-46.) Source: Human Givens Journal Vol.16 No.2 2009.

Solution: Practise loving-kindness.   See Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction.

Exercise after a Heart Attack

Many patients may not be aware of the importance of exercise after a heart attack.   Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast explored perceptions of exercise among patients who did not attend cardiac rehabilitation.   They found that participants thought that keeping active through daily activities was sufficient for health and viewed medication as more important than exercise.   The researchers conclude that health professionals need to communicate more strongly the benefits of rehabilitation programs and exercise.   (Journal of Health Psychology, 2009, 14, 7, 924-32.)

When heart attacks may cause PTSD

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common after a heart attack, according to the findings of Dr. Susan Ayers, University of Sussex and her colleagues Claire Copland and Emma Dunmore.

Seventy-four people who had experienced a heart attack in the previous 12 weeks and were attending cardiac rehabilitation programmes took part in a study.   Just over three-quarters were male and the average age was 62.   The participants completed questionaires assessing PTSD symptoms, as well as their perceptions of the severity of their heart attack and how far they believed their lives were in danger.   Physical health, anxiety, depression and impairment of social activities were also measured, and negative coping strategies such as denial and avoidance.

Sixteen per cent were found to meet the clinical criteria for acute PTSD and a further 18 per cent reported moderate to severe symptoms.   Unsurprisingly, all these people were also more likely to have poorer psychological health and social impairments.   Those who tended to use denial and avoidance coping strategies were more likely to develop PTSD symptoms - this was a more powerful predictor of symptoms than patients’ perceptions of the severity of the heart attack and the threat to their lives.

Dr. Ayers said, “Around 150,000 people in the UK survive the acute stage of a heart attack each year.  Feelings of fear, anxiety and depression are common after such an event.   The findings of this study suggest that a high proportion experience very severe distress and this has the potential to impair recovery, quality of life and threaten future health.   It is, therefore, vital that cardiac patients are screened for psychological distress, such as anxiety, depression and PTSD, and offered appropriate treatment if necessary.”

(Ayers,S, Copland, C and Dunmore, E (2009) A preliminary study of negative appraisals and dysfunctional coping associated with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following myocardial infarction. British Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 3, 459-71)

Please see Trauma Therapy and counselling and other sections on this Caduceus website for alleviation of fear, anxiety, depression etc.  If you are going into hospital for an operation a session of deep relaxation and visualization will alleviate any anxiety.   Do contact me.

FEAR

Question:   How should one cope with fear?

Answer from the I Ching:

……Once we have acknowledged the presence of an evil element, we turn it over to the Cosmos for resolution and correction;  then we withdraw and think no more about it, so as not to become infected by it.

Turning the matter over to the Cosmos activates the power of Truth.

However, if we consciously dwell on the problem in an alienated way, if we try to have some intentional effect, or if we intervene by powerful means, the power of truth cannot come to our aid.

Involving ourselves in the matter means that our ego, whch distrusts the corrective power of the cosmos, has entered as the white knight in shining armour to do battle with the black knight of evil.   The intervention of our ego bars the Higher Power from helping us.

So long as we remain engaged with the problem the Higher Power is not free to act.

The hexagram states that we must be energetic in biting through the obstacle to unity.   It takes great energy to withdraw.

Forgiveness means that we try to understand how people are motivated to do wrong.

It is to understand the power that fear, doubt and bad habits of mind have over people.   It is also to understand that the Creative is capable of penetrating peoples’ hearts and of enlightening their minds….

Study Suggests Relaxation Response Induces Genomic Counter-stress Change

From Integrative Medicine 08.08.2008.

Is it possible that a simple relaxation response can alter the expression of genes?   A study appearing in the July 2 issue of the open-access journal PLoS One found the answer to be yes - potentially offering relief to people suffering from health issues ranging from high blood pressure to infertility as well as pain and rheumatological disorders.   Research performed in a collaboration between the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Genomics Centre at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center suggests that the relaxation response, a physiologic state of deep rest, can influence the activation patterns of genes associated with the body’s response to stress.

Touted as the first comprehensive study of the mind’s effects on gene expression, this investigation focused on the relationship between the relaxation response and the activation or repression of certain genes. The first phase of the study compared gene expression patterns in 19 long-term practitioners of different relaxation response techniques with those of 19 individuals who had never engaged in such practices.   The control participants then went through an 8-week training programme to determine whether initiating a relaxation response practice would change gene expression over time.

The results were conclusive.   Each phase of the study indicated that the relaxation response alters the expression of genes involved in inflammation, programmed cell death, and the body’s handling of free radicals  (those molecules produced by normal metabolism that can damage cells and tissues if not properly neutralised).   To validate those results, both phases were repeated in 11 participants - 6 relaxation response practitioners and 5 non-practitioners.   Results showed significantly similar changes in gene expression.

The relaxation response can be elicited by such practices as meditation, deep breathing, and prayer *(also Polarity Therapy & Therapeutic Touch, mindful body scan, deep relaxation & visualization) and has been documented in previous studies to alleviate anxiety, heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, and post traumatic stress disorder. The Researchers of this study hope that their work will generate hypotheses that may later be tested in laboratory and clinical trials.

*my inclusion.

FIVE PRAISES A DAY

“Be healthy” is one of the aims of the Every Child Matters programme, and the mantra of five fruit and vegetables a day is promoted by those concerned with children’s physical health as one important means of achieving this.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea, then, to extend this maxim to include five praises a day, to put the spotlight on young children’s ongoing need for nurturing attention as well as good nutrition?

This is the idea which Carole Sutton, associate director of the Unit for Parenting Studies at De Montfort University in Leicester, and Martin Herbert, emeritus professor there, are trying to promote among those working with children and parents.

“A widely targeted educational campaign requires a slogan that is pithy and to the point, especially if it is to have the awareness-raising virtues illustrated by the widely known ‘five fruit and vegetables a day’ programme,” they explain.   They acknowledge that ‘five praises a day’ is, like all maxims, a shorthand expression that requires elaboration - such as the need to praise specific behaviour (”I liked the way you helped your little brother to get dressed - that was very kind of you”), praise immediately without qualifiers or sarcasm, accompany it with a smile, hug, eye contact, etc.

“Praise is only one element of positive feedback, although probably the most potent one,  and needs to be defined as precisely as possible for maximum effect.   Parents do not always realise the extent to which these features of care-giving benefit children’s emotional wellbeing, self-esteem and other aspects of positive mental health,” they point out.

[Sutton, C and Herbert, M (2008) Five fruit and vegetables and five praises a day: the case for a proactive approach, Community Practitioner, 81, 4, 19-22]   Source Human Givens Journal Volume 15, No.2 2008

Parents using buggies

Parents using buggies that allow their babies to face them are twice as likely to talk to their baby when out walking than parents using buggies in which the babies face forwards.   “Both mothers and infants laughed more frequently using the face-to-face buggies.   Only one baby out of the 20 laughed during the away-facing journey, while 10 laughed during the face-to-face journey,” said lead researcher Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk of a study conducted for Talk to Your Baby, the early language campaign of the National Literacy Trust.   The findings were presented at the British Psychological Society Scotland’s 2008 annual conference.  Source: Human Givens Journal Volume 16. No.1 2009

School Children and stress relief.

Some teenagers who are preparing for GCSE examinations are turning to alcohol and cigarettes to relieve stressors such as volume of coursework.   Over a quarter of pupils report high levels of school-related stress.   The majority, however, use “adaptive coping strategies”, such as listening to music, watching TV, sport and exercise or walking the dog.   This finding was presented by Dr. Pamela Taylor, a psychologist with Salford Local Authority to the British Psychological Society’s educational and child psychology division’s 2009 conference in Manchester.  Source: Human Givens Journal Volume 16 No. 1  2009.

Background TV and young brains.

We know that watching TV is bad for the brain development of very young children.    Now researchers have shown that even just having a TV on ‘in the background’, while parents read and children play, is likely to have an adverse effect on development too.   Researchers videoed 50 one-, two- or three-year olds, individually, for an hour, while they played with various toys.   Their mother or father was also in the room, reading a magazine.   For either the first or second half hour, a TV was on and the programme being shown was an adult quiz show called Jeopardy.   When the TV was on, children looked at it for no more than just a few seconds at a time and less than once per minute.   Nevertheless, background TV significantly reduced both the amount of time children played and their focused attention while playing.   Shorter playing time and reduced focused attention are known, from other research, to have an adverse impact on cognitive development.   The researchers conclude, “Thus, background television disrupts very young children’s play behaviour even when they pay little overt attention to it. These findings have implications for subsequent cogitive development.”   [Source: Human Givens Journal Volume 16 No. 1 2009]

Psychological distress, such as anxiety, apathy, depression, fatigue and insomnia,

appears to increase the risk of pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes in middle-aged men, according to an 8-10 year study of over 2000 Swedish middle-aged men and 3,100 women, all of whom had normal glucose tolerance levels at the start.  [Diabetic Medicine, 2008, 25, 834-42]   Source: Human Givens Journal Vol. 15, No. 4 2008.

People suffering from anxiety and depression

prefer counselling over medication because they feel that it addresses their underlying problems and not just their symptoms.   This is one of the key findings in a review of UK and international research studies into the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of counselling, which was presented at the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy 2008 annual conference.   [BACP,2008. Counselling in Primary Care: a systematic review of the evidence. BACP.]   Source: Human Givens Journal Vol. 15 No. 4 2008.

Living in continuous fear of acts of terror

can harm your health, even if you have never been exposed to real horror.   The finding is based on questionaire responses from 4877 people attending a medical centre in Tel Aviv for a health check-up.   Researchers found that being exposed to terror acts did not affect people’s health scores but those who had a higher fear of terror did report having poorer health.  [British Journal of Health Psychology, 2008, 13, 2, 257-72.] Source: Humans Givens Journal Vol. 15, No. 2 2008

Money can’t buy happiness.

But giving it away can make you happy.   This is the finding from experiments in which students received some money that they could choose to spend on themselves or on others.   Those who gave it to others were the more contented.  [Science, 2008, 319, 167-8] Source: Human Givens Journal Vol. 15, No. 2 2008

]]> http://www.caduceus-health.com/news/caduceus-website-now-live/feed/ http://www.caduceus-health.com/solution-focused-therapy/solution-focused-therapy/ http://www.caduceus-health.com/solution-focused-therapy/solution-focused-therapy/#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:35:44 +0000 Clare http://www.caduceus-health.com/?p=25 Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

This Human Givens therapy involves talking and listening and believes in and focuses on living mindfully in the present and working towards a positive future rather than on the past, and focuses on the individual’s own strengths, abilities, skills, innate knowledge and possibilities.

We all need not just material and physical but also mental, emotional and spiritual nourishment if we are to flourish.

Our needs for meaning, security, safety and control, love, intimacy and connection to a wider community and to nature, as well as playfulness and laughter for example are some of the human givens, which need to be met if we are to develop to our full potential.

Solution-focused therapy can be woven into a general body-work session or if the person needs to spend time talking over a difficulty or perceived problem, then the full session will be devoted to Solution-focused Brief Therapy.

“People get nervous when they realise I’m lip reading.   It’s as though no-one has ever listened to them closely before”. [Laura Hope-Gill - Parabola Fall 2008]

“You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf”! [Joseph Goldstein]

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

RUMI The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne

Polarity Therapy is a comprehensive health care programme designed by Dr. Randolph Stone (1890-1981) who envisioned Polarity Therapy as ‘Energy Medicine’, a science of health; a dynamic process; an expression of human potential, rather than disease, a science that works with the whole person including anatomy & physiology;  psychological, emotional  and spiritual aspects rather than the symptoms.

It is a way of working with the fundamental energies of life. A way of bringing these vibrational energy currents to a state of balance and removing obstructions to their free flow throughout the human energy field so that it functions in the most optimised way.

Polarity Therapy promotes the unimpeded flow of consciousness through every part of the body. It is consciousness that brings the light and intelligence to every cell and sub cellular structure.

Polarity Therapy Procedures

The Polarity Therapist evaluates the individual’s energy field  through her hands using gentle touch and caring, focused intention and together with a variety of procedures assists the individual towards establishing balance and harmony on all levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - leading to a sense of well-being and improved peace of mind.

The procedures include bodywork using gentle hands-on touch; lifestyle education; diet & nutrition; stretching postures; exercise and counselling.

Polarity Therapy is therapeutically calming and deeply relaxing.   It is when the body with its own innate healing properties is in an optimum state of deep relaxation that healing is able to take place on any of the physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual levels.

The compassionate Polarity Therapist has a deep respect for the client.   Dis-ease may be understood as a sanctuary, where the individual finds a space to rest, gain strength, access inner and outer resources and find support in order to use the opportunity to take a higher level of responsibility for their healing processes and  meeting life’s further challenges.

The role of the Polarity Therapist is to assist in this process by gently bringing unconscious issues into consciousness through creating a sacred space in which the individual feels safe and secure to experience feelings and release tension, resistence and trauma from the body’s cellular memory.    The individual is gently encouraged to feel safe in being present in their body.   The result is to feel consciously alive, fully present in each moment and at peace within him/her self.

]]> http://www.caduceus-health.com/featured-slideshow/polarity-therapy/feed/ http://www.caduceus-health.com/featured-slideshow/therapeutic-touch/ http://www.caduceus-health.com/featured-slideshow/therapeutic-touch/#comments Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:35:02 +0000 Clare http://www.caduceus-health.com/?p=26 The History

‘TT’ has its beginnings in the early 1970’s when after being invited to be part of a research programme at McGill University, Canada, Dr. Dolores Krieger, Professor Emerita of Nursing at New York University USA put the framework for Therapeutic Touch into a nursing model. She coined the name “Therapeutic Touch”.

Therapeutic Touch is a contemporary interpretation of several ancient healing practices and therefore it is transcultural in origin. These practices consist of learned skills for consciously directing or sensitively modulating human energies” [D.Krieger 1993]

Dr. Martha E. Rogers who was Professor Emerita, Division of Nursing, New York University USA presents this abstract theory of Energy Fields.

Human beings and their environments are defined as energy fields. Energy fields are the fundamental units of the living and non-living. Field is the concept that unites humans and their environments.

Energy signifies the dynamism of the human and environmental fields. Fields are infinite, in continuous motion, and always changing mutually. Human and environmental energy fields evolve and continuously change at the same time.

Through the continuous process of humans and their environment, people are different today than they were yesterday.

Human beings are unique energy fields that cannot be divided or reduced. Unique human energy fields are differentiated by pattern just as fingerprints are unique to individuals.

The human field is integral with its unique environmental field, which also cannot be divided or reduced. Both fields have infinite dimensions.

The Procedure

Therapeutic Touch is a non-contact form of touch. It is a gentle, non-invasive procedure during which a person’s energy fields are repatterned with caring, focused intention into a balanced state by the practitioner’s hands moving 3-5 inches off the body.   Therapeutic Touch can be carried out while sitting in a chair or lying in bed.   The person remains fully clothed.

Please wear loose cotton or wool or natural fibre clothing.

Therapeutic Touch can promote:

* A general relaxation response
* Reduction in pain
* A sense of well-being
* Decreased anxiety levels
* Facilitation of the body’s natural restorative processes
* Acceleration of wound healing
* Calmness & relaxation in children.

Therapeutic Touch is soothing, calming and relaxing when used on the Elderly, Babies, Children, the Ill, the Dying and anyone in physical or emotional distress or discomfort.

Guided Body Scan

MBSR is not a quick fix!   Mindfulness is a universal human capacity that can be cultivated, sustained and integrated into everyday life by a daily practice of observing the breath meditation.   Breathing is what we do mostly unconsciously all day and every day to keep us alive and lively!

By spending 20 minutes (or more) each day, sitting quietly and actively being aware of one’s breathing one can change one’s grasshopper mind with its chaotic thoughts to a mind that is more peaceful and tranquil.

The other tools for helping to achieve this gentle self-accepting and non-judgemental way of life are the Body Scan, Walking meditation and gentle yoga stretching exercises.   Focusing on all five senses with intention also helps train and calm the mind through listening, hearing, observing, seeing, tasting and smelling.

Practising Mindfulness makes daily life much more meaningful.    With motivation and commitment one is able to deal with emotional issues,  pain, fear, despair, grief and traumatic events and live a more complete, compassionate and joyful life.

Mindful practice enhances living in this moment; being aware of our Self and conscious of our surroundings including other living beings; right here; right now. Not dwelling on the past, nor worrying about future events. Being….being happy and contented!

‘”Student, tell me, what is God?”   “It is the breath inside the breath”.’ [Kabir]

“Breathe! you are alive!” [Thich Nhat Hanh]

“Our true home is the present moment.  The miracle is not to walk on water.  The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment”. [Thich Nhat Hahn]

From the one eternal breath comes all life and mind, and the senses of all life.   From the one eternal breath comes space and light, air and fire and water, and this earth that holds us all….Where all the subtle channels of the body meet, like spokes in the centre of a wheel, there the one breath moves in the heart and transforms the one form into many.   One who knows all and sees all …. dwells as the eternal breath in the region of the human heart.  When we know this presence in both immanence and transcendence, the ties that have bound the heart are freed and we move beyond the patterns of our karma….  In truth the eternal breath is All.    From the Mundaka Upanishad

Being mindful, we become the observers and experiencers of life, rather than its victims.   We become witnesses to the ever-changing flow of the inner life instead of being carried away by the currents of our minds or the reactions of our bodies.

Mindfulness is available to each of us.   It is a basic human capacity.   Mindfulness is an awareness that arises as we pay attention on purpose, non-judgementally, to unfolding experience in the present moment.   The way of paying attention is crucial.   Mindfulness is sensitive, warm, friendly, compassionate, and allowing.   Mindful attention does not try to change what is happening.   Instead, it reflects - accurately and precisely.   Being mindful means being a witness to, and connecting consciously with, whatever elements of our life that are present now, in this moment.    [Jeffrey Brantley, MD MBSR Programme.   from Grieving Mindfully by Sameet M. Kumar, PHD

Relaxation Response   (From Integrative Medicine 08.08.2008.)

Is it possible that a simple relaxation response can alter the expression of genes?   A study appearing in the July 2 issue of the open-access journal PLoS One found the answer to be yes - potentially offering relief to people suffering from health issues ranging from high blood pressure to infertility as well as pain and rheumatological disorders. Research performed in a collaboration between the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Genomics Centre at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center suggests that the relaxation response, a physiologic state of deep rest, can influence the activation patterns of genes associated with the body’s response to stress.

Touted as the first comprehensive study of the mind’s effects on gene expression, this investigation focused on the relationship between the relaxation response and the activation or repression of certain genes. The first phase of the study compared gene expression patterns in 19 long-term practitioners of different relaxation response techniques with those of 19 individuals who had never engaged in such practices.   The control participants then went through an 8-week training programme to determine whether initiating a relaxation response practice would change gene expression over time.

The results were conclusive.   Each phase of the study indicated that the relaxation response alters the expression of genes involved in inflammation, programmed cell death, and the body’s handling of free radicals  (those molecules produced by normal metabolism that can damage cells and tissues if not properly neutralised).   To validate those results, both phases were repeated in 11 participants - 6 relaxation response practitioners and 5 non-practitioners.   Results showed significantly similar changes in gene expression.

The relaxation response can be elicited by such practices as meditation, deep breathing, and prayer *(also Polarity Therapy & Therapeutic Touch, mindful body scan, deep relaxation & visualization) and has been documented in previous studies to alleviate anxiety, heart arrhythmias, high blood pressure, and post traumatic stress disorder. The Researchers of this study hope that their work will generate hypotheses that may later be tested in laboratory and clinical trials.

*my inclusion.

DSM 1V Definition of Trauma: “The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: the person experienced, witnessed or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of Self or of others.”

The word “Trauma” refers to intense feelings of shock, fear, anxiety and helplessness surrounding the cause of the trauma.   It is not the event itself that is the cause of Post Traumatic Stress Response/Disorder but it is the response to experiencing the event.

Bessel van de Kolk (1996) notes: “Experiencing trauma is an essential part of being human; history is written in blood….Some people have adapted to terrible life events with flexibility and creativity while others have become fixated on the trauma and go on to lead traumatised existences”.

Long term trauma can be dealt with so the patient can resume a healthy, happy and fulfilling life. The body itself has an innate ability to heal itself under optimum circumstances.

The gentle bodywork of Polarity Therapy not only relaxes the patient but also releases trauma held in the tissues and cells.

A successful intervention which may be used during a counselling session is the ‘rewind technique’ or (V/K) Visual Kinaesthetic Disassociation technique which when used by a trained therapist turns a traumatic memory into an ordinary memory.  It is an excellent way to detraumatise disturbing flashbacks and post traumatic stress symptoms arising from any kind of event perceived as life threatening. The technique is safe, non-voyeuristic and fast.

It is recommended that one wait for about 24 hours before seeking counselling to allow the hyper-aroused emotional state one is in to subside and allow the process of healing to begin. If possible be in a safe, secure place with supportive family or friends.

Not all people who experience trauma require counselling. Many people will get through this period on their own and with the support of family and friends will regain their equilibrium and zest for life within three or four weeks.

However,there are people who may become overwhelmed by what has happened; people who have experienced previous traumatic events, and others such as policemen/women; defence force personnel; war veterans; firemen/women and paramedics; doctors/nurses and others who constantly or frequently in the service of their community witness and experience traumatic situations and however “strong” they may be can one day become overwhelmed by all they have experienced and will benefit by having a trained person listen to their story and put their lives back into perspective thus preventing pathological symptoms developing later on in their life.

Childhood experiences such as hospitalization; anaesthesia, witnessing something scary i.e. an animal being run over or killed and then eaten - falling out of a tree and being shouted at by a parent - many many incidents that to an adult are not significant but can affect a child deeply and still affect their lives later on.

The following symptoms that may arise are NOT signs of weakness or anything to be ashamed of but are NORMAL physiological reactions to experiencing an ABNORMAL event such as trauma. Allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling without judging yourself. These are some of the symptoms that may arise following a traumatic experience and are classified under the term Post Traumatic Stress Response.

Possible Physical Reactions Which May Arise:

Changes in sleep patterns, appetite, interest in sex, as well as aches and pains, palpitations, constipation/diarrhoea, susceptibility to colds and illnesses.

Emotional Reactions Which May Arise:

Shock and disbelief, feelings of numbness, detachment or estrangement from others, disorientation or  withdrawal.

Feeling violated, unsafe, helplessness, panic, out of control.

Racist feelings, mistrusting people, hyper-vigilance.

Tearfulness, crying for no apparent reason, feelings of guilt, feeling irritable or aggressive, restlessness.

Flashbacks; fantasizing about how one could have handled the situation differently and what one would like to do to the perpetrator of the crime.

Excessive anger; road rage.

These are some of the very normal reactions that may be experienced and which will gradually lose their “charge” and lessen and finally disappear as life gets back to normal.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

It is only when the above symptoms have been present for more than a month, or when they are extreme and are impacting badly on a person’s functioning that a diagnosis of PTSD can be made.  The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.

There is an acute diagnosis given for symptoms lasting less than 3 months and a chronic diagnosis for symptoms persisting for longer than 3 months. Delayed onset is diagnosed if symptoms only arise 6 months after the traumatic event.

RECOVERY cannot occur in isolation, it can take place only within the context of relationships. Reach out and connect with others.

Talk about the traumatic experience to people you can trust. People who will listen without interrupting and without topping your story with one of his or her own or someone else’s experience.

Avoid watching the news and violent films/videos and reading newspapers.

Do cry.   Crying not only releases tension and held-in emotions but the adrenalin released into the body during the traumatic incident flows out with the tears.   Tears being water, are cleansing.

Do Aerobic exercise - walking in nature, cycling, running, working out in the gym, swimming, dancing etc. Exercise not only releases trauma held in the body but also releases the feel good opiates in the brain.

Yoga also releases trauma held in the body as well as the feel-good opiates from the brain.

Relaxation and healthy wellbeing - stretching, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, singing, dancing,  making music, drumming, listening to music, painting and writing.

Laugh. Watch funny videos & films. Keep the company of understanding people with a sense of humour.

Try meditation and prayer & Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction - see website.

Healthy nutrition. Create interesting meals for family and friends. Work on healthy sleep patterns. Avoid stimulants, in particular alcohol and drugs.

Write, draw or paint your feelings.

Hug those you love. Hugging releases the feel good endorphins in the brain and body.

Do something meaningful each day.

Connect with nature - forests, mountains, veld, sky, the sea,  animals, plants, gardening, etc.

The Chinese character for CRISIS is a combination of two words - danger and OPPORTUNITY.

From this unpleasant experience you will discover inner and outer resources and strengths that you were formerly unaware of that can lead to enabling and empowering transformations within yourself.

UBUNTU - Umntu ngumntu ngabantu = a person is a person through other people. [African saying]