Wow, just realized I haven't posted since early June...nor did I send out to the newsletter group in June at all. Well, there's a good excuse--I've been in the garden! It's only a little one--about 6 x 10 raised bed patch and 6 Earthboxes. Along with my CSA membership (Community Supported Agriculture), it meets 99% of my vegetable and fruit needs and only occasionally do I need to purchase vegetables from the grocery.
I love being in the garden--it reconnects me to life--something it seems to me we have become ever more disconnected from over the last 25 years. My mother, long ago and before her too early death had taught my father to be an organic gardener. It became a lifelong passion/hobby for him and while I didn't appreciate it much as a child (weed, I don't want to weed!), I am so happy today that he passed that knowledge/awareness on to me.
One of my favorite sayings was found on a needlepoint my mother had done as a child. It was framed and it was something I saw often as a child when visiting my grandmother in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It read: "Kiss of the sun for pardon, song of the bird for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden than any place else on earth!"
Those early words have stayed with me for a lifetime and I think they are so true. Even a half hour tending my garden--picking weeds, snipping back an over-zealous zucchini (think Little Shop of Horrors and you'll know what I'm dealing with!) and hunting for a ready cucumber leaves me feeling peaceful. From April to October, it is a daily ritual. Some people like to go to church, or meditate--but for me, spirituality comes alive each morning and evening as I discover the 'life-force' erupting in my garden. As I water in the evenings, I'm amazed to see the changes--some subtle, some large--but always change. There's a steady peacefulness in it all.
So, forgive me...I missed June's newsletter connection, and am scurrying to bring it forth in July. But I'm hoping you didn't miss it because instead of being on your computer reading email, you too were outside dancing amongst life.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Medical guesswork--no evidence required?
The cover of BusinessWeek magazine's May 29th issue was a bit of a surprise to see: Medical Guesswork: From heart surgery to prostate care, the medical industry knows little about which treatments really work. The article, by John Carey, highlights a lot of work done by Dr. David Eddy--a medical doctor turned researcher/mathematician who has challenged the medical profession by proving that the practice of medicine is more guesswork than science. Doctors acknowledge that the "portion of medicine that has been proven effective is still outrageously low--in the range of 20 to 25%. We don't have the evidence [that treatments work] and we are not investing very much in getting the evidence." says Dr. Stephen C. Schoenbaum.
In other words, what they're saying is that medicine isn't 'evidence-based'....it is instead "based largely on rules and traditions, not scientific evidence." And the result? Poor health care, unnecessary treatments, and millions of dollars spent that may be totally unnecessary. The article highlights a change in diabetes care whereby Dr. Eddy proved that the conventional treatment did little to prevent heart attacks and strokes (complications of diabetes) but replacing the conventional protocol with aspirin and generic drugs for blood pressure and cholesterol reduced these complications dramatically. And in the process saved millions while improving life.
Common treatments like angioplasty, ear tubes and spinal surgery were not helpful yet they were the 'gold standard' that patients thought they must have! Last year over 400,000 heart by-pass surgeries and 1 million angioplasties were performed yet the data shows that except for the 3% of most extreme cases, these patients would have had just as good a result with drug treatment. Think of the implications of this....the money spent, the risk of dying during these surgeries as well as the recovery time and this is an alarming situation.
I share this information and challenge you to think about your own health care. Realize that this article shows you MUST become involved and informed vs. just depending on your doctor to pick out a solution for you. This is a key component of Life Puzzle-making--self-responsiblity. When working with medical professionals ask yourself..."Is this doctor just guessing? Does he/she have evidence that this would be the best?" When presented with an option, I recommend you thank him/her and then say, "I want to think about this and check it out a bit more, but I'll get back to you".....and then go do your own research. It may save you lots of time and money.
I had my own experience with this guesswork. I had a dark spot mole on the ball of my foot. It was flat and gave me no problems--it was discovered through a routine check-up. The doctor says, "You might want to have that removed" and sent me off to a surgeon. I met with him and he said, "We don't really know why, but its a belief amongst us that moles on the foot become problematic, so we generally take them off as a preventive measure." I told him I would think about it--because the surgery was expensive and I would need to be off my foot for at least 6 weeks which would make life quite difficult, I wasn't looking forward to this. When I thought about it at home, it made less and less sense to me....and then I called a doctor friend of mine and told her what was happening--and said, "I think this is overblown--and it just doesn't make sense to me to perform surgery on something that's not giving me any problems--what do you think"?
I'll never forget her answer! She said, "Ann, can you see your foot?" I said. yes, I could. She went on and said "Then I suggest you look at it once a month and see if anything changes with that mole--end of treatment for now!" We then started laughing! And even now it makes me chuckle (and the spot went away on its own!), but I also know that for many people--they would have had that surgery! Because the doctor said I should.....
Now more than ever it is important that you understand that so many of the systems that we trust and thereby we assume they know what they're doing....DON'T! That's hard to swallow isn't it? We believe our government is on top of it, but Katrina proved otherwise. We believe our doctors/medical system knows what its doing and why--but this article clearly shows that much of the medical treatment used in this country is not based on good, sound, scientific evidence. With that said, you have to stand tall in your doctor's office and be a partner in your health care and make rational choices amongst this guesswork!
In other words, what they're saying is that medicine isn't 'evidence-based'....it is instead "based largely on rules and traditions, not scientific evidence." And the result? Poor health care, unnecessary treatments, and millions of dollars spent that may be totally unnecessary. The article highlights a change in diabetes care whereby Dr. Eddy proved that the conventional treatment did little to prevent heart attacks and strokes (complications of diabetes) but replacing the conventional protocol with aspirin and generic drugs for blood pressure and cholesterol reduced these complications dramatically. And in the process saved millions while improving life.
Common treatments like angioplasty, ear tubes and spinal surgery were not helpful yet they were the 'gold standard' that patients thought they must have! Last year over 400,000 heart by-pass surgeries and 1 million angioplasties were performed yet the data shows that except for the 3% of most extreme cases, these patients would have had just as good a result with drug treatment. Think of the implications of this....the money spent, the risk of dying during these surgeries as well as the recovery time and this is an alarming situation.
I share this information and challenge you to think about your own health care. Realize that this article shows you MUST become involved and informed vs. just depending on your doctor to pick out a solution for you. This is a key component of Life Puzzle-making--self-responsiblity. When working with medical professionals ask yourself..."Is this doctor just guessing? Does he/she have evidence that this would be the best?" When presented with an option, I recommend you thank him/her and then say, "I want to think about this and check it out a bit more, but I'll get back to you".....and then go do your own research. It may save you lots of time and money.
I had my own experience with this guesswork. I had a dark spot mole on the ball of my foot. It was flat and gave me no problems--it was discovered through a routine check-up. The doctor says, "You might want to have that removed" and sent me off to a surgeon. I met with him and he said, "We don't really know why, but its a belief amongst us that moles on the foot become problematic, so we generally take them off as a preventive measure." I told him I would think about it--because the surgery was expensive and I would need to be off my foot for at least 6 weeks which would make life quite difficult, I wasn't looking forward to this. When I thought about it at home, it made less and less sense to me....and then I called a doctor friend of mine and told her what was happening--and said, "I think this is overblown--and it just doesn't make sense to me to perform surgery on something that's not giving me any problems--what do you think"?
I'll never forget her answer! She said, "Ann, can you see your foot?" I said. yes, I could. She went on and said "Then I suggest you look at it once a month and see if anything changes with that mole--end of treatment for now!" We then started laughing! And even now it makes me chuckle (and the spot went away on its own!), but I also know that for many people--they would have had that surgery! Because the doctor said I should.....
Now more than ever it is important that you understand that so many of the systems that we trust and thereby we assume they know what they're doing....DON'T! That's hard to swallow isn't it? We believe our government is on top of it, but Katrina proved otherwise. We believe our doctors/medical system knows what its doing and why--but this article clearly shows that much of the medical treatment used in this country is not based on good, sound, scientific evidence. With that said, you have to stand tall in your doctor's office and be a partner in your health care and make rational choices amongst this guesswork!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
400 gallons for every American
The interdependency between oil and food is not one that the average American really understands. In reality, our food travels on average over 1500 miles from field to plate. This is a huge impact on the environment but that is only one of many ways that oil shows up in our food.
Recently, an article in the Oregonian newspaper highlighted how much oil goes into our food: To feed every American, 400 gallons are necessary in the following ways:
33% of the 400 gallons goes to fertlizers
20% of the 400 gallons goes to operate machinery like tractors
16% of the 400 gallons goes to transport food
13% of the 400 gallons goes to irrigation processes
8% of the 400 gallons goes to raise livestock
5% of the 400 gallons goes to pesticides
5% of the 400 gallons goes to miscellaneous needs.
With over 275 million people @ 400 gallons each, it is easy to see that local food production can have a serious impact on our oil dependency. Add to that changes in growing methods towards more organic vs. industrial farming using tons of pesticides and fertlizers and again our need for oil can also be reduced.
Its up to us--the choices we make in how our foods are grown and where our foods are grown can be proactive. Make an attempt to buy local, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, grow some of your own food in Earthboxes, buy organic whenever possible. Every choice you make can reduce your 400 gallons and if enough of us do this, it could have a serious impact while improving our communities and environments!
Recently, an article in the Oregonian newspaper highlighted how much oil goes into our food: To feed every American, 400 gallons are necessary in the following ways:
33% of the 400 gallons goes to fertlizers
20% of the 400 gallons goes to operate machinery like tractors
16% of the 400 gallons goes to transport food
13% of the 400 gallons goes to irrigation processes
8% of the 400 gallons goes to raise livestock
5% of the 400 gallons goes to pesticides
5% of the 400 gallons goes to miscellaneous needs.
With over 275 million people @ 400 gallons each, it is easy to see that local food production can have a serious impact on our oil dependency. Add to that changes in growing methods towards more organic vs. industrial farming using tons of pesticides and fertlizers and again our need for oil can also be reduced.
Its up to us--the choices we make in how our foods are grown and where our foods are grown can be proactive. Make an attempt to buy local, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, grow some of your own food in Earthboxes, buy organic whenever possible. Every choice you make can reduce your 400 gallons and if enough of us do this, it could have a serious impact while improving our communities and environments!
I know I need to but I don't want to
I was talking with a new client who had just finished her Life Puzzle assessment. As we looked at her scores, the nutrition and exercise areas were very low. At the same time, she was dealing with lots of anxiety and emotional issues. So I said to her, "In Life Puzzle--every piece impacts the whole--so by improving your nutrition choices and beginning an exercise program, a lot of your anxiety and emotional issues will also be improved."
She responded--"Yes, I know I need to start exercising, eat better and stop smoking but right now I don't want to". And she said it so matter of factually. Then she continued saying that for her at least--exercising, eating well and not smoking were all activities that were going to require attention, effort and hard work. From her current perspective, this 'need' was in conflict with her more immediate 'want' of having relief from her anxiety and emotional stress.
What she was essentially acknowledging was the 'reactive, quick fix', 0-5 side of the Choosing Continuum--where choices are made to 'fix problems' that are presently in front of me at the time. From this perspective, we usually look to find the easiest, instant gratification choices--even if they only provide symptom relief. And for her, this was the option to smoke, have a few cocktails and eat the easily available foods.
It made me reflect on the 'want vs. need' relative to the two sides of the Choosing Continuum.
When you operate your life primarily from the 0-5 style, 'wants' are immediate, quick fix, problem removers. 'Needs" on the other hand are the things you should do, but they require effort and sometimes hard work as you make the changes necessary.
But what happens when you operate your life primarily from the 6-10 side of the Choosing continuum? Now, 'wants' are such that making choices are focused on long-term outcomes, whole life making--such that the effort made is not seen as hard but as joyful because it leads to such better long term results. I want to eat a healthy balanced nutritious lifestyle not because I'm supposed to but because I want to--because I want a great, whole and dynamic life. Needs and wants now merge together! Yes, I know I also 'need' to exercise, but that takes a back seat to I want to exercise because I know the result is feeling great and without exercise, I rob myself.
As I've noted many times--90% of the population is operating their lives from 0-5 and has this want/need dilemma! Everyone opts first for 'feel good right now' vs. feel good for a lifetime. Shifting to the 6-10 is the discovery of building your Life Puzzle such that choices that look like a need for 0-5ers become wants instead.
For example, when someone asks me what I eat, I always say, "I eat whatever I want". People respond, "Oh, I could never do that--because from their 0-5 way of seeing things "eating anything I want means not eating the foods I need/should eat". But for me, my 'want' is great, healthy and whole food--because I know how good it feels to live when I eat like that. I don't feel like I give up anything I want because my 6-10 focus is such that I want to create a lifestyle vs. quick fix, immediate gratification of eating junk food."
It wasn't always like that for me--I was a junkfood junkie and I can remember a friend suggesting I make changes--and saying pretty much what my client said to me--"I want to eat these foods." My friend said, "That's fine...just add a few more of these other foods". In time, the foods I wanted shifted to the foods I needed. Then, need and want merged into Life Puzzle making.
That's what I hope will happen with my client and everyone who uses Life Puzzle model as a framework for building a great life. Where your 'wants' meet your needs and you can live vibrantly every day!
She responded--"Yes, I know I need to start exercising, eat better and stop smoking but right now I don't want to". And she said it so matter of factually. Then she continued saying that for her at least--exercising, eating well and not smoking were all activities that were going to require attention, effort and hard work. From her current perspective, this 'need' was in conflict with her more immediate 'want' of having relief from her anxiety and emotional stress.
What she was essentially acknowledging was the 'reactive, quick fix', 0-5 side of the Choosing Continuum--where choices are made to 'fix problems' that are presently in front of me at the time. From this perspective, we usually look to find the easiest, instant gratification choices--even if they only provide symptom relief. And for her, this was the option to smoke, have a few cocktails and eat the easily available foods.
It made me reflect on the 'want vs. need' relative to the two sides of the Choosing Continuum.
When you operate your life primarily from the 0-5 style, 'wants' are immediate, quick fix, problem removers. 'Needs" on the other hand are the things you should do, but they require effort and sometimes hard work as you make the changes necessary.
But what happens when you operate your life primarily from the 6-10 side of the Choosing continuum? Now, 'wants' are such that making choices are focused on long-term outcomes, whole life making--such that the effort made is not seen as hard but as joyful because it leads to such better long term results. I want to eat a healthy balanced nutritious lifestyle not because I'm supposed to but because I want to--because I want a great, whole and dynamic life. Needs and wants now merge together! Yes, I know I also 'need' to exercise, but that takes a back seat to I want to exercise because I know the result is feeling great and without exercise, I rob myself.
As I've noted many times--90% of the population is operating their lives from 0-5 and has this want/need dilemma! Everyone opts first for 'feel good right now' vs. feel good for a lifetime. Shifting to the 6-10 is the discovery of building your Life Puzzle such that choices that look like a need for 0-5ers become wants instead.
For example, when someone asks me what I eat, I always say, "I eat whatever I want". People respond, "Oh, I could never do that--because from their 0-5 way of seeing things "eating anything I want means not eating the foods I need/should eat". But for me, my 'want' is great, healthy and whole food--because I know how good it feels to live when I eat like that. I don't feel like I give up anything I want because my 6-10 focus is such that I want to create a lifestyle vs. quick fix, immediate gratification of eating junk food."
It wasn't always like that for me--I was a junkfood junkie and I can remember a friend suggesting I make changes--and saying pretty much what my client said to me--"I want to eat these foods." My friend said, "That's fine...just add a few more of these other foods". In time, the foods I wanted shifted to the foods I needed. Then, need and want merged into Life Puzzle making.
That's what I hope will happen with my client and everyone who uses Life Puzzle model as a framework for building a great life. Where your 'wants' meet your needs and you can live vibrantly every day!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Marriage is a lot like yoga...10 years before you're really into the practice!
I was talking to a friend who is a yoga instructor. The topic however was marriage. I was saying that I thought we give up too early on our marriages--that it really isn't until about the 10th year of marriage that one is actually getting into the groove of a good marriage. Her comment kind of surprised me as she said "That's what they say about yoga practice too. It takes about 10 years before you're really into the groove of practicing yoga."
We then went on to discuss the parallels of what it means to work on a marriage relative to what it means to practice on the yoga mat. If you've ever practiced yoga--you know that it is in the repetition and consistency of returning to the mat that transforms you. I know when I started practicing yoga--the first video I used, I couldn't even complete! It wasn't that it was so very difficult--but it was more than I knew how to do. But, I just kept practicing that tape, over and over. Today, I can do that tape with ease, but it was only by returning to the mat over and over again that I could reach that level.
The same is true with marriage! In the first few years, learning how to live with another person, build good communication channels, setting goals, etc., is very challenging and difficult. Most of us, quite frankly, aren't very good at it! We make lots of mistakes, blame our partners for not being any better at it than we are and wake up a few years into the marriage wondering what the heck we're doing here! Much like the early years of being on the mat--it is tempting to just give it up altogether! What's the point--it's hard work, you don't often see immediate results and there's a lot of other places you could put your energy and have more fun!
And so we do give up on our marriages--way too soon. We walk out in the hard part, afraid to trust that, like yoga, if we try again, we can learn to be better communicators, we can know our selves better and thus be able to open ourselves to knowing our partners on a deeper level.
As a marriage counselor, I try hard to convince couples to give their marriages more time because I've seen time and time again those couples who, despite being in a very unsettled period of their marriage, stick it out and receive incredible benefits as a result. They take the angst they're in and dive into it--doing both individual work and couples work. Little by little they learn new communication techniques, they confront some of their own issues and move through them so that these issues no long stunt their marriage.
I won't kid you--its hard work--but you know, like yoga--with each return to the mat, you get just a little bit better at it and one day you look back and realize, 'wow, I can hold that pose for two minutes when just three months ago I couldn't hold it for two seconds! My clients who hang on through the angst times of their marriage also look back and realize that the partner they could barely stand to look at during the tough times they are now deeply in love with! This is the joy that is only possible by staying and working in a marriage.
If you look at any great marriage--or any yoga master, all will say that there were good times, hard times, times they all felt like quitting. But the yoga master stayed and can now look back on all those tough times and enjoy what those challenges produced. The same is true for long term marriages--you can only look back to see the joy of what those challenges produced if you keep the marriage together.
In its own way, building your marriage is just like building your Life Puzzle--it is a life-long learning experience. Like the yoga master, mastering your Life Puzzle and building a great marriage is a daily process--it isn't finished until the day you die. As you return to the mat, over and over again--return to your marriage each day as well. In both, the effort extended is the only way to produce the change and growth you desire!
We then went on to discuss the parallels of what it means to work on a marriage relative to what it means to practice on the yoga mat. If you've ever practiced yoga--you know that it is in the repetition and consistency of returning to the mat that transforms you. I know when I started practicing yoga--the first video I used, I couldn't even complete! It wasn't that it was so very difficult--but it was more than I knew how to do. But, I just kept practicing that tape, over and over. Today, I can do that tape with ease, but it was only by returning to the mat over and over again that I could reach that level.
The same is true with marriage! In the first few years, learning how to live with another person, build good communication channels, setting goals, etc., is very challenging and difficult. Most of us, quite frankly, aren't very good at it! We make lots of mistakes, blame our partners for not being any better at it than we are and wake up a few years into the marriage wondering what the heck we're doing here! Much like the early years of being on the mat--it is tempting to just give it up altogether! What's the point--it's hard work, you don't often see immediate results and there's a lot of other places you could put your energy and have more fun!
And so we do give up on our marriages--way too soon. We walk out in the hard part, afraid to trust that, like yoga, if we try again, we can learn to be better communicators, we can know our selves better and thus be able to open ourselves to knowing our partners on a deeper level.
As a marriage counselor, I try hard to convince couples to give their marriages more time because I've seen time and time again those couples who, despite being in a very unsettled period of their marriage, stick it out and receive incredible benefits as a result. They take the angst they're in and dive into it--doing both individual work and couples work. Little by little they learn new communication techniques, they confront some of their own issues and move through them so that these issues no long stunt their marriage.
I won't kid you--its hard work--but you know, like yoga--with each return to the mat, you get just a little bit better at it and one day you look back and realize, 'wow, I can hold that pose for two minutes when just three months ago I couldn't hold it for two seconds! My clients who hang on through the angst times of their marriage also look back and realize that the partner they could barely stand to look at during the tough times they are now deeply in love with! This is the joy that is only possible by staying and working in a marriage.
If you look at any great marriage--or any yoga master, all will say that there were good times, hard times, times they all felt like quitting. But the yoga master stayed and can now look back on all those tough times and enjoy what those challenges produced. The same is true for long term marriages--you can only look back to see the joy of what those challenges produced if you keep the marriage together.
In its own way, building your marriage is just like building your Life Puzzle--it is a life-long learning experience. Like the yoga master, mastering your Life Puzzle and building a great marriage is a daily process--it isn't finished until the day you die. As you return to the mat, over and over again--return to your marriage each day as well. In both, the effort extended is the only way to produce the change and growth you desire!
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