Resources for Nourishing Your Soul: An Innovative Residency Model to Cultivate Meaning and Resiliency Books: Gifts for Residents Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie (Pre-Orientation) Bernard Lown, The Lost Art of Healing, Practicing Compassion in Medicine (Graduation) Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom & My Grandfather s Blessing (Orientation) A personal HMM Journal During an Orientation Retreat, I do a session introducing them to HMM & Nourishing the Soul. They are given gifts : Dr. Remen s Books, a stress bookmark (like the mood rings from the 60 s) so they can gauge their stress level, and a HMM Journal. Instructions for HMM Journals: End of day, take 5-10 minutes to reflect back on your day Start with a relaxation exercise Reflect from the end of the day to the beginning of the day What made you laugh? (Humor) What had Meaning? (touched your heart/inspired you) Did you witness Mystery? (something you witnessed that made you wonder) Write like a novelist/a journalist.have fun with it! Faculty Resources (for monthly sessions) Stephen Covey, Everyday Greatness, Inspiration for a Meaningful Life Loretta LaRoche, Life is Short- Wear Your Party Pants Susan Pories, et al, The Soul of a Doctor The Wonder and the Mystery- Reflections Section of the Annals of Family Medicine Mind-Body Resources: Autogenic Training info: www.autogenic-therapy.org.uk/ Heart Centered Meditation: YouTube: Heart Center Meditation Induction Ann Marie Chaisson, MD
Shaking- OSHO Kundalini Meditation: www.osho.com (click through: OSHO/Meditation/Active Meditations/Kundalini Meditation) Tracks used from: Deuter, Osho Kundali Meditation & Bob Marley, Legend, Three Little Birds CDs (So many are available, find your favorites) Robert Griswold, Total Relaxation & How to Manage Stress Easily John Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness for Beginners Beth Salcedo, Progressive Muscle Relaxation Andrew Weil, Mind Body Tool Kit Ann Marie Chiasson, MD. Self-Healing with Energy Medicine Belleruth Naparstek, Guided Imagery Mix, Relaxation and Wellness Apps (some free, some purchased) Simply Being Take a Break Jack Kornfield, Guided Meditation Examples of Monthly Nourishing Your Soul Sessions: Format: -Start with a relaxation exercise -Read a story together (every person takes a paragraph), or Watch a Video -Partner up in small groups to discuss, or journal independently about the topic -Reconvene and wrap up Humor: DVDs Loretta LaRoche- Life is Short-Wear Your Party Pants; Parenting with Humor; Life is Not a Stress Rehearsal; Juicy Living, Juicy Aging I often show the DVDs, stopping and allowing them to engage in some of her exercises Also, YouTube has lots of possibilities-explore (Ellen DeGeneres with Gladys, Hysterical Bubbles-laughing baby) Exercise: Share stories about a moment of ridiculousness and humor in your professional life-a time with patients or colleagues when you had laughed TED Talks for Humor Stuart Brown-Play is More Than Just Fun Exercise: Recall your last play-filled experiences
Importance of play: o the spontaneous eruption of joy o adaptability o a transformative force o leads to creative thinking Maysoon Zayid- I got 99 problems palsy is just one Review Reflective Questions o What did you notice? o What was surprising or unexpected? o Can you see the same situation with new eyes? o What moved you most about this TED Talk? Meaning: Exercise: After reading Rachel s Introduction Narrative, share one of your stories about deciding to become a doctor Talk about when you decided to become a doctor; Or a story about how your training has changed you; Or a story that illustrates when you first understood what it really means to be a doctor Exercise: Read Harry s Story from The Wonder and the Mystery Wonder is an experience, the natural response to being in the presence of something larger and more universal than ourselves. Great deal in medicine that is worthy of wonder and awe- but we don t take the time to reflect about it and talk about it. RNR suggests that people who wonder, never burn out-they may discover inspiration and renewal. Read Harry s story as a group Reflect on Harry s Story-- What did you hear? What did you feel? What do you think? Begin to see the familiar in new ways Primary care is a front row seat on life. Partner up and share stories about a clinical experience that touched your heart Rachel Naomi Remen Video The Art of Living Every Minute of Your Life (on You-Tube) Show 9 minutes (I Am Satisfied) Exercise: Intro: Best stories give us new eyes. Help to see ourselves and life differently. Help us find deeper meaning and satisfaction in our lives Pair up and share stories that have helped you live. Encourage the listener to listen generously, not interrupt, and listen from the heart
Paola Calasanz s video on Youtube (google a/plus.com/a/random) Exercise: Ask participants to write down the answer to If you could have one wish right now, what would it be? The above video juxtaposes the answers of healthy individuals with cancer survivors or relatives of cancer survivors. After watching, inquire what was surprising or unexpected. I comment how I felt touched by the young cancer survivors. Ask then to bring to mind one moment in which you felt touched by life other than your own. How has that experience affected you. Think about the details for a minute or two, and then partner up and share stories. DVD from Association of Professional Chaplains 2007 Conference-Encountering the Sacred: Becoming a Blessing, Plenary Session by Rachel Naomi Remen (I have used parts for both Meaning and Mystery sessions) Exercise: After listening to some of Rachel s stories about a personal connection with someone that leads to a rediscovery of meaning, purpose or focus, share a story about a person who has made a difference in your life and helped you realize your dream of whom you wanted to become Exercise: After reading Rachel s A Front Row Seat, share a story where you have had a front row seat on the healing process Exercise: After reading Pories Forward and Code, share one of your code stories TED Talks for Meaning Brene Brown-The Power of Vulnerability Exercise: Recall an experience where you needed to muster up courage Lissa Rankin-The Shocking Truth about your Health Journaling Exercise: What needs to be tweaked in your life? Mystery: CD: The Will to Live and Other Mysteries by Rachel Naomi Remen. A story about Sam, who realized he was born with the soul of a doctor. So ponder Why medicine... Why me? What is your story about joining this healing profession? And how has providing medical service changed you? DVD from The Institute of Noetic Sciences: Initiation: The Gift of New Eyes Lecture by Rachel Naomi Remen Exercise: Rachel shared some stories about experiences that cause change in a person and result in seeing the world differently a turning to your true self Share a story about a personal transformation of experience
DVD described above from 2007 Chaplain s Conference-Rachel shared some stories that make us wonder, stories about mystery with a capital M-share one of your personal stories of Mystery TED Talks for Mystery Anita Moorjani-Dying to Be Me! Exercise: Do you have an experience that you witnessed that you couldn t explain Janine Shephard- A broken body isn t a broken person Exercise: Share a story about a patient that inspired you Louie Schwartzburg-Nature, Beauty, Gratitude After viewing talk and allowing time for comments & reactions, then a volunteer reads: A Heart Wide Open Joel and Michelle Levy Can you remember a time (or times!) when you were really cracked open, and beheld the overwhelming beauty or suffering of the world around you? Can you remember how it felt to have your heart wide open, your seeing that deep and clear, and what it felt to simply be present and alive in those moments? It takes courage to wake up, to open our wisdom eyes, look more deeply, see more clearly, and feel deeply into the subtle, complex and profound interrelationships that weave the fabric of our lives and world. To the fainthearted, it may superficially seem easier to live in denial, mindless of the intensity of beauty, joy, and wonder, numbed to the sorrow, suffering, and pain in our lives and world. Aloof and self-disembodied, we distance ourselves from the raw, vivid, intensity and intimacy of our feelings and our visceral responses to the suffering of the world within and around us. Such self-protective strategies keep us distanced from our heart, our feelings, our loved ones, yet sooner or later, most of us get cracked open, one way or another, by the raw intensity of the nature of our lives and world. Exercise: Can you share a personal story of a time you felt such an opening and received great clarity and depth of understanding? Laura Micek-Galinat MD, MPH LauraMD.Galinat@rwjuh.edu RWJ-Somerset Family Medicine Residency Somerville, NJ