Ideal state of health care

By Pierre Morin | Published: 2012

As part of regional health care reforms and transformation efforts I was invited to participate in  a focus group of stakeholders in health. We were tasked to come up with a vision of an ideal state of health care. Here are ideas that I threw into the mix:

  • Philosophy: Mind and body are integral aspects of health and not separate entities.
  • Access: Everyone has access to health care services.
  • Cultural proficiency: Every health care provider pays attention to what their patients/consumers pay attention to.
  • Dialogue and communication: Providers and consumers have a better understanding of each other.
  • Everyone feels empowered and motivated to engage in healthy behaviors and preventative services.
  • To achieve best possible health communities feel empowered to take charge and be responsible for their members’ health and the health care systems they engage in.
  • Social disparities are addressed as part of health.
  • Collaboration: An interdisciplinary system in which all providers work together and trust each other.
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IAPOP Conference 2012

By Kara | Published: 2012

GLOBAL BURN-OUT?
Tension, Crisis and Change Processes
Forum for Sustainable Group Process Methods in Working with Social Challenges

April 28-30, 2012 Volkshaus Zurich, Switzerland

At the conference on April 28th we will be doing a workshop and open forum:

WW meets spirituality: Zen and Health Equity: Individual and community approaches to health: Open Forum

with Pierre Morin, Kara Wilde and Anna Gamma

Health Equity: a community open forum framework to address social justice issues that affect health and develop community based health leadership.
Zen: an individual and community framework to strengthen resilience and self-healing.

This workshop will include brief theory that introduces theoretical concepts, the practice of self-healing and a health equity open forum that will combine both individual and community approaches to health.

For more go to the 2012 IAPOP conference website and sign up for the conference

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The Path

By Kara | Published: 2012

On this path, the important thing is neither the cure of symptoms nor the achievement of worldly goals, but awareness of the journey, step by step. ~ Arnold Mindell, The Quantum Mind and Healing, pg 199

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Playing the Field: Exploring Fields, Roles and Rank to Find Answers to Relationship Issues

By Kara | Published: 2012

 with Kara Wilde M.A. and Suzette Payne M.A.

Saturday, May 19th, 2012,  9:00am – 4:00pm

How to expand your options in dealing with difficult relationship problems. Creating Sustainable Relationships.

Teenagers, elderly parents, friends, partners and bosses. What to do!

  • Play and create fluidity in stuck conflicts
  • Identify and differentiate roles and relationship patterns
  • New perspectives on rank and power in relationships

Join this creative relationship class in Process Work, using art, imaginative play with puppets, movement and dreams.  An exciting way to develop your awareness within relationship challenges using simple methods to create more fun, meaning and less suffering. For individuals and professionals.

Cost:$108 ($96 member) before May 4th, $120 ($96 member) thereafter

Location: Process Work Institute, 2049 NW Hoyt St, Portland, OR 97210

Classroom: PWI Library
To register – Call 223-8188 or email pwi@processwork.org

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Climate Change: Social Change Open Forum

By Kara | Published: 2012

Is Climate Change As Urgent as Some Suggest?
and what, if anything, must be done?

June 2, 2012,  7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE ML King Blvd., Portland, OR 97232

INITIATORS:

Professor Dr. Catherine Gautier University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor Dr. Jeff Kiehl National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO

INITIATORS and FACILITATORS:
Drs. Arnold and Amy Mindell
Founders of Worldwork and Process Work

More information on the Open Forum Portland Site

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Sunrise

By Kara | Published: 2012

Where to start? It is a new day. A new year. How to practice staying in touch with nature while dealing with everyday frustrations. A moment in the morning as the sun rises behind Mt Hood. Walking through the asleep city. Then into the work world. One thing to do after another.

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Creative Wellness Checklist

By Pierre Morin | Published: 2011

Health

A sustainable relationship between you and the energies/meanings your symptoms are bringing to your awareness. Symptoms are processes you need to pick up even if they go away.

Medicine and health are multidimensional and individual processes. Please check the various wellness themes. Most are pretty straight forward and relevant for everybody and some might not fit your individual process. The wellness topics include:

Allopathic and complementary medical procedures

Am I adhering to the medical procedures of my culture?

Did I have my regular preventative health checks/screenings? (PAP smears, mammogram, annual checkup, blood cholesterol level, blood pressure, dental cleaning)

Do I take my prescribed medications and herbs as prescribed?

Diet

Did I eat a healthy breakfast? (high fiber, low sugar, fresh fruit, good protein)
Am I following an anti-inflammatory diet? (vegetables, fruits, beans, deep sea fish, shitake mushrooms, green tea)
Did I take my supplements to complement what I don’t get in my diet? (Good Multi Vitamin, Fish Oil, Vitamin C, Anti-Oxidants, Co-Q-10)
Did I eat healthy snacks? (UltraMeal, fresh fruit, raw nuts)
Did I avoid high sugar carbohydrates after 2pm? (anything with flour, refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup)
Did I read at least one food label today and learn from it?
Did I get 5-7 servings of vegetables in my diet?
Did I drink 50-70 oz of water? (keep a water bottle with you in the car or at your desk)
Did I eat a healthy dinner with my family if possible? (lean protein with veggies, interact and listen to family)

Exercise

Did I do some light stretching after my shower?
Did I exercise or plan to today? (30 minutes interval cardio training, 45 minutes yoga or strength training, be mindful of intensity level, ask your medical doctor how to adjust your exercise regimen to your specific health needs)

Relaxation/Sleep hygiene

Did I practice (4-7-8) breathing, inhale trough your nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7 and exhale through your mouth for a count of 8, repeat 5 times. Complete twice a day.
Did I drink something or do something to sooth my body before sleep (chamomile tea, read something light, practice meditation)
Did I go to bed at a time that will allow me to get 7-9 hours of sleep?
Do I follow the natural ups and downs of my energy level, use my fatigue, fears of death to relax, go inside and follow my dreaming?

Intellectual stimulation

Did I feed and challenge my brain? Use it or lose it!! (read, solve crossword puzzle, learn a new skill, teach a new skill, turn off the TV at night, spend time with friends, family, social groups such as reading club, bridge club, community learning center, etc.)

Addictive tendencies

Am I aware of my addictive tendencies?
Can I let loose, follow my altered states to connect with my creativity and spirituality?

Dreams, childhood dreams

Am I connected with my dreams and childhood myth?

Life goals

It is a matter of life and death when you are in an unstable health situation.
Why am I here? Is there something I would like to do and haven’t made the time to do?

Geography

  • Allergies: Is my home environment free of mold, pet dandruff, and other allergens?
  • Atmospheres: How do I contribute to positive atmospheres?
  • Radiation: Have I checked my basement for Radon exposure?

Toxins in your home or work place

Cleaning products: Do I use non toxic and environmentally friendly products?
Do I use cotton instead of synthetic sheets?

Social Issues

What are the social issues I don’t want to talk about? Social and cultural issues affect our health and wellbeing. Bringing awareness to them in community settings such as open forums can bring relief to some of the daily hassles they generate.

Relationships/Community participation

Am I happy in my relationships?
Did I love someone or serve someone or something today?
Am I participating and giving back to my community?

Spiritual

Is there something huge that pulls me?
Am I feeling connected to something bigger than myself and have it guide me?
Did I wake up with “attitude of gratitude and ask what am I grateful for”?

Measurements

What is your Body Mass Index:
Cholesterol Level:
Blood Pressure:



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What Does Health Have To Do With A Sandpile?

By Pierre Morin | Published: 2011

Disease is the breakdown of our complex adaptive system we call health. Together our psychologies, brains and immune systems work together in a constant exchange of information to create a state of balance or good enough health. Multiple layers of feedback systems allow us to adjust our physiologies to the constant changes we are encountering on a minute to minute and day to day basis. This ability to maintain a stable internal environment through physiologic and behavioral changes has been named allostasis and is one major characteristic of good health.

Faced with too much stress, challenge and change our systems break down and we get sick. As in other complex systems this process follows non-linear rules, which means that small causes can have a big effect once our health protecting systems become sufficiently unstable. Nobody can exactly predict when we will get sick or who will get sick when facing a certain threat such as for example a virus or some toxins that alter our DNA and create cancer. Imagine adding sand to a coned sandpile. Over time the sides of the pyramid get steeper and at some point a sand slide becomes inevitable. But nobody can predict when adding just a single grain of sand will trigger an avalanche.

Our complex state of health is deeply unpredictable. Health is a poised critical state that minor disturbances can tip out of balance and create disease states of all sizes like avalanches of sand in a sandpile. We live constantly on the edge of unpredictable change. Health is a dynamic interactive process and requires ongoing complex adjusting behaviors.

Restoring health, once we get sick, requires certain medical procedures or treatments, some life style changes such as dietary or exercise regimen changes, and the strengthening of our allostasis or ability to adapt to the changes and uncertainty of life. Resilience is our positive capacity to adjust to change and cope with life challenges and stress. This adjustment and learning process may result in us “bouncing back” to health or us using the adverse experience to make us stronger and more resilient (much like a vaccine gives us the capacity to cope well with future exposure to disease). Resilience is a very individual process that depends on individual and cultural values and belief systems.

Individualized recovery goals may include:

• cultivating our inspiration for our creativity;
• encouraging us to see change as healing and believe that healing is change;
• reminding us that our humor and curiosity will help us go through illness;
• helping us find purpose and direction;
• strengthening our sense of feeling at home even when in pain and suffering;
• developing a space for learning and community;
• inspiring us to think on our own and to believe in our experiences and ourselves;
• fostering our confidence in caring for ourselves;
• nurturing our belief in our self-healing powers and the flow of nature they bring to life;
• training our trust in our true and deepest nature;
• shaping a better world for us, our family and our community;
• supporting our internal diversity and the diversity of our communities;
• and exploring our own powers of creative healing.

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The Psychology of Change and Growth

By Pierre Morin | Published: 2011

Change is a built-in function of life. Everything changes all the time. Then, the second law of thermodynamics suggests that all closed systems are moving towards a state of entropy or decay. On the other hand, open systems exchange energy and waste with their environment and are able to defy entropy and keep a steady or balanced state for a certain time. Lastly, negentropy or syntropy is the process of energy storage (in essence from the sun) that allows for growth and development.

In individual psychology entropy can be seen as the day to day experience of movement and change towards the ultimate transition of death. You can compare it to our auto-pilot process that moves us through life and helps us function in everyday but is irreversibly linked with deterioration and decline. Negentropy or syntropy, in contrast, is our ability to be aware, store information and direct our path towards growth and meaning.

Then again based on painful experiences from parents and teachers most of us associate change and growth with something that is wrong with us. Improvement and growth has the negative taste of overcoming failure to fulfill certain expectations. We also spend most of our younger years in developing our identity and want nothing more than to be respected and accepted as who we are. Change automatically implies that something is wrong, that we are not good enough and “have to” change. Everybody will resist this and push back, given that it is so important that we feel accepted for who we are regardless of anything that would require us to change. The paradox is that we can’t avoid change because it is intrinsic to life and we hate change because it can imply a flaw or failure.

 

“Radical acceptance” and “you create your own reality” or “that which we water grows”

A consequence of new age and/or psychological thought is that we believe we create our own reality. Mind body medicine explains how powerful our minds are in co-creating our physical experiences. In my own experience our minds and bodies are really not separate and they shape each other. Psychosomatic medicine can be very powerful and help cure disease. But then there are limitations and these views have a dark side too. Cancer patients are made to feel that they brought their illness upon themselves because of their own negative thinking. Individuals with an auto-immune disease start feeling that their body turn against themselves because they were not successful enough in listening to their own body needs.

Radical acceptance is an alternate approach that helps when we are confronted with painful events that exceed our own control. Radical acceptance teaches us to accept reality for what it is and to stop fighting it. Radical acceptance is about handling the cards you were given and to muster the courage to face our own lives just as they are, even in the midst of suffering.  Allow the world to be what it is, throwing yourself in to life, and participating in it in a willing manner.  The paradox of radical acceptance is that it includes all our parts, the ones that ask: “why me, it shouldn’t have happened”; the ones that use psychology, mind body medicine, and awareness to change and grow; the ones that get hopeless and want to give up; and the ones that accept reality as it is and turn our minds towards our own processes as they follow the flow of the river life.

 

 

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Around the Garden

By Kara | Published: 2011


Having a relatively cool summer means that the lettuces last for a long time. It’s so great to be able to pick things fresh when you want.

The currants look gorgeous. Shinny and black but the taste is really strong. No wonder they are used mostly in jam!


Our orange roses keep coming.

I picked up the geranium at the bargain rack at the store not knowing what color I was getting and it is blooming a soft pink.

The sunflower is taller than our garage and covered in flowers. I don’t remember planting it.

The light in the afternoons is wonderful but it is starting to feel like fall. Oregon summers are short but lovely.

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