Staying healthy and productive in healthcare, in leadership, in informatics is a huge challenge. How are you coping? Here are my musings about Mindfulness, from my blog.
CT meditates: a comedy (19). The second arrow
It takes my son to teach me about important concepts from the Book of Joy. An ordinary person feels two pains, two arrows, with any tragedy. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he feels the pain of … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (19). The second arrow”
CT meditates: a comedy (18). Flow!
Have you read Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi? Mihaly’s last name prompts me to remember Wheel of Fortune: “May I buy a vowel?” Nevertheless, this classic book introduced the world to the concept of flow: …the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (18). Flow!”
CT meditates: a comedy (17). You are not yet perfect.
Yoga pose ASANA, I’m told. I’m pretty sure that most Yoga poses are beyond me. We did do some yoga during our Thanksgiving Retreat and Renewal. This is where I discovered my ineptitude. And I got past it and still enjoyed the impossibility of some of the yoga poses. From the Book of Joy (pg 92), … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (17). You are not yet perfect.”
CT meditates: a comedy (16). Mindfulness Quiz, and “Smile…Breathe…This is a test”
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/quizzes/take_quiz/mindfulness I like this mindfulness quiz. Just going through this, lets you take a step back and think about your own approach to mindfulness. What tricks do you use in your daily practice? One idea I heard from a Communications workshop participant recently: when about to step into what you anticipate to be a difficult … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (16). Mindfulness Quiz, and “Smile…Breathe…This is a test””
CT meditates: a comedy (15). Chris Sinsky and AMA steps forward
https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/physician-burnout I am loving the website that the American Medical Association has built, called “Steps Forward.” For years we have struggled to help docs run their clinics more efficiently, reduce waste, improve workflows. This is of course, under the rubric of “I hate the EHR; get that CT Lin guy to come out here and … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (15). Chris Sinsky and AMA steps forward”
CT meditates: a comedy (14) Stanford wellness, military mindfulness, and Death Sticks
I like Stanford’s relatively new Physician Wellness site; something we can all aspire to. It includes links to self-assessments (see “Test yourself” link on the far left of that page. http://wellmd.stanford.edu/ What highly-competitive health care provider doesn’t want to test themselves against others? Maybe I can score the highest! Wait, maybe not the highest on … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (14) Stanford wellness, military mindfulness, and Death Sticks”
CT meditates: a comedy (13). Extending compassion
Okay, I’m mixing my metaphors now, between yoga and meditation. And some of you probably think “what’s the difference? it is all new-agey stuff anyway.” From both the Book of Joy (see recent post) and Start Here (recent post), the practice of compassion can be linked to a brief meditative exercise. One starts with thinking … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (13). Extending compassion”
CT meditates: a comedy (12). Hiking at Shambhala
Our trip to Shambhala mountain center would not have been complete without some strenuous hiking up above the retreat. It sits on 600 acres of land in the foothills and is pretty spectacular. Allen Ginsburg’s remains are buried here. And hiking the perimeter trail is a wonderful 10 mile traverse, of which we did a … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (12). Hiking at Shambhala”
CT meditates: a comedy (11). Falling asleep at yoga
So our family recently went to the Shambhala mountain retreat, and I participated in my first restorative yoga session with a terrific instructor. Ninety minutes of stretching, moving my body in ways it is not used to, in an idyllic mountain setting, with great views out the window. What’s not to like? We end of … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (11). Falling asleep at yoga”
CT meditates: a comedy (10). Bicep Curls for the mind
I’ve heard that meditation is essentially “Bicep Curls for the Mind.” Just like you would train your body in whatever discipline: martial arts, or boxing, a sport, yoga, lifting weights, you can also train your mind for more focus, discipline, productivity. Creating a habit of meditation of noticing and being present, not only reaps immediate … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (10). Bicep Curls for the mind”
CT meditates: a comedy (9) Notice, Shift, Rewire
So I’m coming back to Start Here. One of the precepts of the book that I’m most enjoying is the idea of NOTICE-SHIFT-REWIRE. Of course, read the book to get the complete impact of this powerful idea. This is part of meditation practice, to be more aware of your body, your breath, the task at … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (9) Notice, Shift, Rewire”
CT meditates: a comedy (8). Leading meditation (boring)
So I was asked to lead a short meditation in a workshop I was helping to conduct. We’re doing some work on Personal Resilience in our organization. I also gave a similar talk to some pharmacy residents, and decided to incorporate a brief guided meditation exercise (WITH ME AS GUIDE?!?!). So, I did my best. … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (8). Leading meditation (boring)”
CT meditates: a comedy (7) Monkey Mind
Monkey Mind! A term particularly apt, at least for me, as I navel-gaze into my own brain (hmm, mixed metaphors also seem to be a personal problem). Sitting quietly in a chair paying attention to breath CANNOT BE THIS HARD, but my analytical internal left-brain monkey is active all the time. I mentioned my new-found … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (7) Monkey Mind”
CT meditates: a comedy (6) Book of Joy
Reading this book, on the recommendation of my children. If parents can take credit in any way for their children’s accomplishments and thoughtfulness, I will ride their coattails all the way. This book is the outcome of a weeklong meeting between two 80+ year old spiritual leaders summing up the common threads of their philosophies … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (6) Book of Joy”
CT meditates: a comedy (5). Three domains of physician well-being
So, lets get this clear. I have heard both sides of the debate about “Physician Wellness Programs are Lipstick on a Pig“. Yes, of course. Many physicians are burned out because of inefficient practice, and often it is due to the setup and requirements of the Electronic Health Record. Therefore, according to this contingent, recommending … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (5). Three domains of physician well-being”
CT meditates: a comedy (4). Book review: Start Here
So, today is about gratitude. Thank you to Dr. Patrick Kneeland, Executive Medical Director for Patient and Provider Experience at UCHealth. In his efforts to improve provider resilience (just one component of the many things he does), he has brought together about 50 providers to take the Life XT (cross-training) course. The course book is Start … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (4). Book review: Start Here”
CT meditates: a comedy (3). Stumbling meditation!
Falling over during Walking Meditation! So, our family traveled to Shambhala mountain retreat just outside of Ft. Collins (no, I’m not necessarily a Buddhist, Shambhala is also a great place for a secular retreat) for a Thanksgiving Retreat and Renewal. I’m happy to bend your ear for an hour talking about how fun that was … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (3). Stumbling meditation!”
CT meditates: a comedy (2) Insight Timer
Well, sure. Some of you with great flexibility might right away achieve the classic meditation pose, with legs crossed, feet upturned into a locked triangle. That is too advanced for me. I prefer sitting in a chair to meditate. Either feet on the ground or even in a nice recliner. Hey, why suffer when meditating? … Continue reading “CT meditates: a comedy (2) Insight Timer”
CT Meditates: a Comedy (Post #1)
I am introducing an ambitious goal for myself: a DAILY blog post between now and the end of the year (every day of the month of December 2017) on MEDITATION, and my comedic efforts at self-awareness, presence, gratitude, compassion, engagement, all the good things that come from such practice. In this age of Physician Burnout, … Continue reading “CT Meditates: a Comedy (Post #1)”
30 Second Trick for Learning and Memory
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robyn-scott/the-30-second-habit-that-_b_4808632.html Something I learned while taking that Coursera course on Learning how to Learn. Turns out it is never too late to learn something new. Here’s an idea that you can LEARN IN 30 seconds, and could have lasting repercussions: Summarize your last meeting, or discussion, or class, or event that you want to remember, … Continue reading “30 Second Trick for Learning and Memory”