Mana for the Doctor's Soul

I haven't been in South Carolina for many years, but am here now for a dear friend and colleague's memorial. She didn't live here herself, but her parents moved to Hilton Head in 2000. The place became home for her family, and served as a delightful setting for many joyful reunions.  So it's no wonder her memorial would be held here -- amidst palmettos, salt marsh, and constantly changing skies. I took a sweet walk at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge [pictured] yesterday, just to savor the place.   It has been a time of fullness, connection, weeping, laughter, remembering, and dwelling at the confluence of spirit and flesh. Since it's January, the skies wept along with the humans. There have also been multiple uncanny events which I will not describe right now, because I do not yet understand them. Later, for that.  Sue and I met when she decided to change her specialty from Ob-Gyn to Psychiatry. I felt so fortunate to participate in her training, because sh...

To me, some people are living, breathing examples of Ho'oponopono.  This can surely last after they pass on.  Some have been to seminars to learn about the process, and others have come to this on their own. Some people naturally come to an acceptance that we are not "in control" of outcomes, but can certainly practice peace in every moment -- no matter what.  Not all of us get this lesson so easily, even while actively doing Ho'oponopono. A comparison between my own recent activities and the attitude of a dear friend and colleague will illustrate.  I supposedly practice Ho'oponopono; he doesn't.  It's definitely in him anyway. A couple of weeks ago I was in San Diego for a session with my current homeopathic training program, California Center for Homeopathic Education .  The session contained several classroom days, a graduation evening, and also a quiz for which I needed to study. Imagine my growing concern when, around 4pm on the 100+ degree af...

 "The rainbow is a sign from him who is in all things." ~ Hopi saying A physician colleague wrote this past week asking about Ho'oponopono , as he had come across this blog.  He had also attended a recent Ho'oponopono training near his home.  It was a blessing to hear from him.   Although Ho'oponopono is a way for all people to make amends for our misperceptions about others and life itself, I feel this is especially important for those of us in healing professions.  Not all are willing to consider these ideas, but I offer this blog from the part of me who is in all things.   As far as healers go, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len often shares that as a psychologist he was trained to "help" other people.  But in practice, this doesn't work.  How many patients do my colleagues know, who are not "helped" by what we do in medicine?  Is this not uncanny, when we are trying so hard? In Ho'oponopono, we are not really here to help others at all...

"Humans suffer," reads a Ho'oponopono newsletter posting from Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len a few months ago. He continues: "They experience problems in the course of their everyday existence. These problems and suffering are experienced and are caused by memories replaying the past AGAIN in the computer of mind, the subconscious!" Is this suffering so many of us go through, really necessary? Can it be interrupted, even relieved? Pain and suffering, after all, are not the same. All of us experience pain at times -- think toothache, appendicitis, loved ones leaving or dying, etc. But suffering complicates this, and can last a lot longer. We suffer when we want what shows up in our lives to be different from what's actually present. Sometimes we even demand this -- which is a common path towards illness in some form. As a psychiatrist and classical homeopath, I work with people to discover their personal requirements for a feeling of "okayness". Some, for...

Someone sent me an interesting email today: I've been reading your blog peacefuldoc.com for a while now. While I enjoy your blog, I've noticed one thing - you rarely talk about your personal experiences with ho'oponopono. I was wondering, why is that? Is it because you have not experienced anything tangible? One thing I've noticed about ho'oponopono is this: 99% of people who practice it can talk about their intangible results (peace of mind, connection with God, etc) - all things that can be obtained through simple meditation or any religion. But very few can talk of tangible results, especially repeated tangible results that make a significant impact on life... from areas such as finance, health (cure diabetes? cancer?), family, friendships, etc. This leaves me feeling very skeptical about ho'oponopono. I was wondering, why is this? Anyway, I am not targeting you specifically, but I feel that you are a clear/concise writer that might be willing to explain thi...

The deadliest wildfires in Australia's history have destroyed many acres, homes, and lives this week. In the midst of such horror, Divine Inspiration comes through in the above photo of a tired, parched koala being offered a drink by volunteer fireman David Tree. Taken by another volunteer with a cell phone camera, the photo captures a moment of uncomplicated Love in action. The koala was walking on scorched paws in a charred forest near Melbourne. Seeing that she was in trouble, the fireman pulled over his truck. The koala "plonked herself down, as if to say, 'I'm beat', " recounted Tree. He offered her a drink from a water bottle -- and "the most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that." Now nicknamed "Sam", she is recuperating at Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Victoria state. Although badly burned, she is healing well -- and even has a protective new boyfriend named "Bob". Burned also, he apparentl...

Why would you imagine that people come to see a psychiatrist -- and a homeopathic psychiatrist at that? All kinds of stresses and suffering lead them to my door. But out of all the problems I hear, the most frequent is their relationships with each other. That's right. Some want to be in relationships and can't find them; others are in relationships and want out. Still others are so focused on tormenting each other they wouldn't think of leaving -- but both partners become ill. In homeopathy , we explore the person's inner experiences. This is not to create a chronological "who did what to whom" kind of document. Instead we want to discover how the life force has tried to adapt to perceived problems; this is revealed through the person's pattern of symptoms and ways of suffering. Through this understanding we can find a medicine from the natural world that contains this same energy pattern -- and thus can catalyze healing. Believe it or not, there are simi...

There are days when nothing seems to go right -- and when maybe, like the "sat on" bird above, we might question even getting out of bed. Cultivating gratitude during these times can be a real challenge, and yet Ho'oponopono encourages saying "thank you" even in the midst of problems. Needing some help with exactly this, I was fortunate to come across a wonderful poem written by one of my colleagues, Martina Nicholson MD. It spoke to me so deeply I wanted to share it here. With her permission, here it is: CULTIVATING GRATITUDE by Martina Nicholson, MD "You don't have to like it." On my knees, I thank You for the hardest things, This floor, This sink full of dirty dishes, This house of unmade beds. I am sorry for the grumpy way I woke up this morning, Absent praise. I thank You for the tiniest goodnesses, The cyclamen on the porch With flames like Pentecost, The swirl of dust motes In the morning light. I thank You for the sunlight, And the cold wi...

Dear Readers, It seems I wasn't clear in transmitting the purpose(s) of this blog the other day. I have offended at least one person, and I apologize for this. From Kalea (Sunny) I received this comment that illustrated my unclarity: "I have an issue with what you've written and would like you to clarify this on your blog so your readers won't be misled!!! You wrote: This blog focuses on Self-Identity through Ho'oponopono as taught by Morrnah Simeona, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, Mabel Katz, and the Foundation of I. Though it especially reaches out to people in healing professions as they work with patients or clients, its information may interest others too. Pam, please clarify "what" specifically reaches out to people in healing professions...and may interest "others" too. Are you talking about your blog or ho'oponopono. Because if it's ho'oponopono that you are writing about, you are completely wrong. I am 100 percent Hawaiian and my f...

Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len reminded me recently that his teacher Morrnah Simeona , the kahuna who updated the ancient Hawaiian problem-solving practice of ho'oponopono, kept a sign upon her desk. "Peace Begins with Me," it said. People came to Morrnah from all over for various kinds of healing, especially spiritual; she was also expert in massage. She was apparently very relaxed about all this, and was even known to fall asleep during training seminars. She went about her business, practicing the inner peace conveyed by her desk sign. She also got results. This kind of calmness sometimes eludes me. People come to doctors hoping for some kind of relief. So I get anxious when they're suffering; I feel both their pain and and the need to relieve it. Morrnah probably cared a great deal for others, or she wouldn't have made herself available to them. But she also taught that getting too wound up in others' pain makes one useless as a healer. In my own case, the danger ...

This weekend I'm enjoying an annual conference with my colleagues from the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson, Arizona. It's a wonderful group of people, graduates of Dr. Andrew Weil's fellowship in Integrative Medicine . Integrative Medicine is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative. Physicians come to the 2-year fellowship for all kinds of reasons. Some want to bring additional modalities such as nutrition or botanical medicine into their existing practices. Others want help shifting their entire practices in more healing, prevention-oriented directions. Still others are developing Integrative Medicine clinics and departments in their own medical centers. Perhaps some of us seek healing ourselves. All fellows come out valuing our fellow humans' natural healing capacities, e...

"What is done by what is called myself is, I feel, done by something greater than myself in me." ~James Clerk Maxwell, physicist, on his deathbed in 1879 The artwork above is a painting by Navajo artist David K. John , and hangs in my office. Titled "Rain Chanters," it depicts beings that are sacred to the Dine (the Navajo people), and which can offer healing assistance. It blesses the space where I see my patients. I am grateful for any feeling of help when working with my patients. To me this is a huge responsibility, and doctors, nurses, therapists, and other caregivers can easily feel overwhelmed. We're all the time trying to understand and solve others' problems. It sometimes amounts to what Dr. David Reilly of Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital in Scotland calls " fixitology ". We act as if we think the patient is broken , needing to be "fixed" -- as quickly as possible (" quickfixitology "). Further, we reduce the person to b...

Yesterday I posted about Evy McDonald's recovery from ALS and how she did this. Since the context was ho'oponopono and hearing issues , the way Evy's inspirational story came up for me is rather uncanny. I'd like to claim a superior command of academic literature and laserlike intellectual memory, but it had nothing to do with that. Instead, it was due to a song. While reading Jimmy Piver's story about hearing loss, within me I distinctly heard an old friend singing a song he had written and recorded about Evy. Really. Hearing that voice and the wonderful lyrics from several years ago, my heart swelled. My senses came alive. This evoked a Google search, which produced the article I linked for you. Please credit Greg Tamblyn , one of my favorite people and singer-songwriters anywhere, for haunting my musical consciousness. I've enjoyed his songs countless times, including cross-country car trips! And he created a real beauty in "Unconditional Love: The Tru...

Many people wonder how ho'oponopono or other spiritual practices could help them with conditions such as hypertension , depression, and even hearing loss. The September 2007 issue of Ethnicity and Disease published a study showing that adding classes in ho'oponopono helped hypertensive people improve their blood pressure more effectively than medications alone. It was a relatively small "pilot" study, but is a beginning in exploring what people might be able to accomplish through such processes. Others' experiences with ho'oponopono and their health situations fascinate and inspire me. Jimmy Piver, one of my friends in North Carolina, has written about his own challenges with hearing loss in his blog " Ho'oponopono for Today ". The post is titled: Why Hearing Loss and Deafness were Blessings: Or Why My Hearing Went South . He shares wisdom about mind-body interactions, how he feels these apply to him . . . and how ho'oponopono has helped him...