I am an extra. I am a non-speaking character in a coffee shop background sipping coffee and staring at my laptop. There are raindrops on the windows, a blade of grass moving in the wind outside, cars moving past on the road, murmuring conversations, a large orange sculpture, a concrete floor, a sneeze, a ding,…
Counseling / Philosophy / Yoga
It was Valentine’s Day, 2013. I had waited all day in fear, as fellow tenure-bound colleagues celebrated with online posts conveying relief and joy. When I finally got the evening call from the dean of liberal arts, “I’m sorry, there just wasn’t enough,” he said. That was it, a quick and sudden death of my…
I don’t follow recipes. Why then you might ask, “Do you have so many cookbooks?” Fair question. Cookbooks are for me narratives, sometimes exotic, sometimes familiar, always poetic. Here is a fantastic example, from Bangkok: Recipes and stories from the Heart of Thailand by Leela Punyaratabandhu: My great-grand parents always greeted guests with a silver…
“Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart and at the same time the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun. Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea.” – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche In her book The Wisdom of No Escape, American Tibetan Buddhist, Pema Chodron discusses the above quote…
An OSCE (Objective structured clinical exam). For, “social work?” you might be asking. Indiana University uses the OSCE exam to assess student’s clinical assessment ability. It is a way to document and measure how responsive, intentional, empathetic and helpful, I can be as a social worker. Of my first four classes in the MSWD program,…
The kids are heading back to school in West Lafayette, Indiana. And, just like that without fanfare, summer is over. Sigh. I hope you had some tasty things with your favorite people. Here are a few of my nostalgic and grateful summer food moments. 1. Eating anywhere unfamiliar makes familiar foods, fascinating. 2. Eating treats…
“The art of listening is the marriage of ear and space.” – Remski interpretation of Patanjali’s sutra 3.41 In my Theory and Practice Course for Social Work, we are learning the art of interviewing. Step one involves achieving a compassionate and empowering balance between attending and reflecting. Here is an ancient yogic way to develop…
Think back to memories where you were so immersed in the experience that either you couldn’t or wouldn’t stop to take a picture. For this reason, cherished memories of my recent trip to Costa Rica doesn’t make for a good social media post. For my own sake, I’ll try my best to share and reflect…
Yoga helps, “the seeker excavate the tensions of inner life in a self-directed manner” (Look inside) us be responsible for our own spiritual health (Be responsible for your own peace) “relocate the unseen within us, invites us to introvert, to open our eyes to why we are who and how we are.” (See your hidden…
Haven’t we all suffered nights of restless sleep? I still do sometimes, but now without the added anxiety and self-judgment. I don’t feel like a victim of my restless thoughts, emotions, and imagination. Knowing a few relaxation techniques gives us tools to try while lying in bed, eyes wide open, instead of stirring up anxiety…
The course, Introduction to the Social Work Profession opened with a module, not about the glories of the profession, but rather the demands and the emphatic need for self-care. Symptoms of “compassion fatigue” as one of the embedded TED talks warned was to be monitored on a daily basis. Compassion fatigue unlike burn-out characterized by…
Living forces honesty. Answers are seasonal, losing their sense precisely as they become scripture. You will die: this is the first meaning. The world around you seems to bear helpless witness to your wandering. Other people suffer in the same way, and yet this seems to increase loneliness. But you can welcome despair like gravity,…
It is a bit unusual for someone with a Ph.D. to go back to school, right? Yet, here I am. This is my first-week attending IUPUI’s Masters of Social Work program online. I don’t find my status odd or contradictory. Given my graduate work at the New School School for Social Research, a pursuit of…
This was week 2 of Yoga for Grief at the IU-Arnett Hospice in Lafayette, IN. Thank you to new and returning yoga friends. Yoga for grief can accompany each of Dr. William Worden’s four tasks of mourning: acceptance, processing, adjusting and finding a place for loss in new life. I am particularly interested in the…
To those who participated in our first session of yoga for grief (serving Lafayette IU Health Hospice Groups), THANK YOU. We explored basic breath, body and mind awareness as a way to notice and return to ourselves especially after loss. We started with a few easy standing stretches, seated breath awareness, guided meditation and guided…
