Join us by reading one chapter per week of our book The Healing Circle which includes inspiring true stories and teaching from the ‘Skills for Healing’ Cancer Weekend Retreats. Each week we will post the next chapter of our book, links to related video, and a blog about the chapter. Learn about recent scientific advances in the body-mind-spirit connection, updates of the people featured in our book, and our reflections on each chapter. Read the whole book for free by accessing the previous blog posts. Please send us your comments and questions! Deep peace and healing,Rob Rutledge, MD and Timothy Walker, PhD
Previous Chapters:
The Healing Circle Book Chapter Blog: Chapter One – My Healing Journey
Watch the Video: Body-Mind-Spirit Connection Talk at CBCN Breast Cancer Conference. Dr. Rutledge outlines “Complete Breast Cancer Care”, the integration of conventional medical care with scientifically-proven and wisdom-based healing techniques and attitudes which maximize the chance of recovery. Beyond providing this practical and integrated approach, Dr. Rutledge will show how our attitude to our own healing journey can influence the outcome. Included are the stories of ordinary yet remarkable people who have transformed the cancer journey into a journey of the spirit.
Blog by Dr. Rob Rutledge
“The Healing Circle is what it claims to be: An integration of science, wisdom and compassion that touches one’s heart while guiding one’s mind to embrace the wholeness that every human can feel and understand. By drawing on the wisdom and experience shared in this book, life’s difficulties can truly become blessings which help us heal our lives.” Bernie Siegel, MD
Twenty-five years after reading Love, Medicine and Miracles, I sat in a cancer support group with its author, Dr. Bernie Siegel, the surgeon/teacher who inspired me to become an oncologist and run weekend retreats. At the monthly meeting, twenty people with differing backgrounds and cancer experiences crammed around a board room table. Each person spoke in turn about what was happening in their lives, sharing their struggles and triumphs while everyone listened attentively.
Bernie, with bald head and sparking eyes, looked remarkable spry for a man in his seventies. He responded to each person in turn with lines like “These are the attributes of an exceptional survivor”, simultaneously teaching the group and addressing the person. After one feisty elderly woman spoke he nodded and smiled. “Yes, I remember you, we’ve had our disagreements here…” Apparently she had attended the support group on and off for years, often arguing with its leader. Bernie was honest and direct, but I also got the strong sense that he truly loved every person there.
On my turn, I shared my passion for empowering people affected by cancer and my incredible gratitude for attending Bernie’s professional retreat in 1990. Bernie seemed to glow as I spoke, perhaps reflecting on the idea that his wisdom and love were being passed on to so many others via the Healing and Cancer Foundation. For a second time in my life, I left Bernie absolutely certain that I was on the right path.
The second reflection on this chapter is how the science of the body-mind-spirit connection has evolved since we wrote our book. In the last five years, there has been an explosion of studies being published on brain science proving that our brains continue to grow and change throughout of lifetimes. It’s exciting because by practicing simple techniques like “Taking in the good” we can sculpt the brain to change passing states of mind into lasting traits – literally choosing how we can experience the world. We can use this science to train our brains to think more clearly, remember more, and function at a higher level.
I’m also excited to share the emerging science of positive psychology. The analogy is that our mind is a horse and we are the rider. By learning to re-direct the horse when it becomes skitterish (ie. when difficult thoughts and emotions arise), we can learn ways to settle the horse down and move forward in the direction we choose. When the horse and rider work together, we can create more happiness and fulfillment in our lives.
So please join us in this weekly blog where we can update and teach these essential healing skills. Enjoy the Ride.
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