Mana for the Doctor's Soul

"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...

Becoming a doctor isn't only about attending medical school, graduating, and passing licensure exams. It's also a process of learning to engage with others in a healing way, even when they're feeling their worst. We may think we have little in common with our patients, yet this is an error. Histories need to be taken, tests and procedures may need to be done, and through it all patients needs to know we comprehend and care about them. I used to think they wouldn't know unless I told them in words, but over the years this has changed. There are many ways to be present when someone is suffering. One of the most potent of these is also one of the simplest: listening. I mean listening without inserting our point of view, related experience, or advice. This is very difficult for many people, yet ho'oponopono offers a way to keep our minds still while genuinely hearing another. At least it does so for me. My colleague Rachel Naomi Remen MD is a pediatrician, counselor, s...