News and Stories

Reports on Events
The Feel Good Factor - 2004
The Healing Power of Illness - 2003
Invitation to Dance - 2002
Medicine and the Art of Communication – 2002
Stress-free Living - 2002
Building Bridges - 2001
Understanding Love - 2000
The Reflective Practitioner: Symposium - 1999
Dying - A Healing Art - 1999
Core Values in Medicine - Retreat 1999
The Art of Self-Healing - Retreat 1998

 

The Feel Good Factor - January 2004

A better understanding of what is ‘well being' and how it can be cultivated could contribute to reducing stress, frustration and burnout, common in the healthcare professions.

This was the view of the speakers at this event, who came from three quite different medical and spiritual perspectives.

Professor David Peters, Lecturer in General Practice at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School and Professor at the School of Integrated Health , University of Westminster introduced the topic by asking: “How do we understand well-being in the 21 st century? A survey of 2000 general public revealed that factors explaining wellbeing included optimism, sense of control in life, adequate support network and ‘good enough' health, energy and happiness. People want and expect more well-being now; so it is not the same as health or happiness. The study indicated that well-being had more to do with attitude than age, gender or wealth and suggests, therefore, that we can determine whether we experience well-being.”

Attitude has an Effect
Dr William Bloom, author of “The Endorphin Effect”, educator and psychologist with 30 years experience in integrating holistic healthcare with contemporary psychology, stressed that there is a direct, immediate and automatic link between what is happening in the mind and heart and what occurs in the body. The psyche sends messages to the body, which responds by sending out hormones. If the psyche perceives threat, one set of hormones are sent and if it perceives something attractive, it sends out another set.

Circumstances are not what control the individual's metabolic response – it is how the circumstances are perceived that determines the response. It is therefore a matter of attitude. He continued, “an optimistic attitude, even in dire circumstances, is maintained by those individuals who trust that fundamentally the universe is unfolding in a benevolent way”.

Dr. Bloom emphasised this fundamental notion: how we feel is not dependent on circumstances outside ourselves, for example a job, a relationship, possessions, health etc. If we believe this, we trap ourselves in a world that can never be controlled. “Whatever the ‘karmic situation', it is our attitude to it that determines our inner experience.” Control is possible by developing positive states of mind and not giving attention to negative states. Instead we can observe negative states, like a witness, until they lose their power over us.

Dr Bloom cited research: each cell has a receptor for endorphins, ‘the feel good hormones', and these chemicals are readily released into the body by every-day experiences which we can cultivate.

As a bonus, he guided the audience in a meditation to allow love and peace to circulate through the body, expanding that love when past impressions surface, so they can be released, a practise he uses to help people heal old memories.

Listening in Silence
Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo, nurse and acupuncturist, has travelled the world, working with and studying western and eastern traditions of healing. Christian by faith, she spoke of her experiences as a nun and of her work with Maria Theresa in India . Her memoirs are entitled, ‘The Voice of Silence'.

“When illness comes, we must look at ourselves as we play a part in choosing an illness. Insights come if we look for them, in silence. ”

Acknowledging the pivotal role of silence in cultivating well-being, she stated, “Through my experiences, I have come to know silence as a rich inner state.” She continued, “It is only in silence we are able to listen closely enough to receive answers.” She counselled, “Be silent and learn to listen to the music of silence. Silence is the language of love, the language of God and the language of healing.” She explained her view that silence, love and prayer make the soul grow more beautiful and elaborated, “The body is only the packaging. Well-being increases with age.” She added a comment on love, “Love is multi-faceted; you don't have to feel it, it still works. Love is the great healer.”

Cultivating Virtue
Dadi Janki, 87-year old yogi, President of the Janki Foundation and Co-administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University , spoke of many factors related to health including karma [action], positive thoughts towards oneself and towards others, cultivating virtue, remembering God and staying in the present.

She started, “The knowledge of karma is needed to fully heal the present and to know how to create a different future. We must accept that the account of karma brings things back from the past that have to be settled now. It is a reminder to carry out actions with regard to the result.”

She discussed the role of thoughts and feelings. “It is important to have feelings that are clean, honest and compassionate or they become an obstruction for health. With compassion, we are able to give happiness to others, no matter what the other person is like. It is better not to think of revenge but rather to understand some sort of debt is involved. If we imbibe virtue, we are freed from the ‘illnesses' of fluctuating and of bad feeling in the mind and can build tolerance. Then we do not complain about anyone, we become content and can give contentment to others. Patience is a wonderful medicine.”

Dadi elaborated, “Giving peace, love and happiness finishes ‘karmic' debt; others stop causing you pain.” Two musts: Do not give sorrow to anyone and if anybody tries to give you sorrow, do not accept it!

In her experience, illness often just goes away and wellbeing improves if one does not worry. “It is important to stay in the present: neither to worry about the future nor to touch the past. The greatest medicine is to use the present very well.” She touched on her faith in God, and her relationship: “God is my protector; God is my carer and my parent.”

The afternoon included questions to the speakers and concluded with meditation .

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Healing Attitudes, June 2003

Approximately 50 participants, many of them NHS health professionals, were engaged in just such a discussion during a weekend retreat in Oxfordshire on the theme of ‘Healing Attitudes’. This event also included time for reflection, relaxation, creative workshops, panel presentations and guided meditations.

After contemplating the purpose of attending this retreat, the forum on Healing Attitudes, chaired by Arnold Desser, took discussions off to a head start. Phil Barker, psychotherapist, mental health nurse and Visiting Professor at Trinity College, Dublin and Kate Griffiths, Head of User Involvement & Carer’s Unit, Social Services Department, Birmingham were the key speakers.

Phil’s message was that the foundation of healing attitudes is an understanding that life is a constantly changing process of ‘going in the tunnel and coming out into the light’. He suggested we learn to be ‘raised’ by challenges, the times of going through the tunnel when there is no light, by changing our thinking about ill health. He stated: ‘In the West, we have an adolescent drive to relieve ourselves of suffering, hence our inability to show compassion to self and others’. In this denial of ourselves, we forget that healing and compassion bring together the experience of sickness and health. He referred to the ‘glory of acceptance’ of ill-health in that suffering is a powerful part of the human story and, quite boldly, declared it a redemption process.

Phil went on to talk about the state of human awareness using the allegory of charcoal. Under high pressure, it renders a masterpiece, suggesting there is nothing wrong or bad about illness. Important values to bring about wholeness include humour, love, respect, acceptance and compassion. He ended with a challenge: ‘happiness is at the tips of our noses, if only we care to find it’.

Kate talked about attitudes, how they affect both physical and mental health, illustrating by referring to her personal experience of illness. She now manages her well-being by listening to her intuition and to signals given by the body. But this was not the case until recent years.

Highly successful in her work, but at the price of taking four months off sick to regain her physical health, she went into a gradual decline into ill health, whilst juggling a demanding workload and having diminishing support from her team. During her period of convalescence, she came to understand that she had neglected her health and spiritual well being, and started to refocus her energy into managing her life as a ‘whole’. She discovered that there are productive ‘self-help’ methods which improved outcomes and were meaningful for her and for everyone else involved.

Kate returned to work with a different set of values, which included giving time to herself, time for silence each day and becoming an observer of her thoughts and words through detachment. She quoted a definition of FEAR: ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’ and revealed that ‘the charcoal effect’, in her recovery, has meant she now has the tools for living a more meaningful and productive life.

There followed a discussion in the audience about expressing pain, picking up others’ pain, how we can we respond to their suffering and whether we, as health workers, can allow ourselves to be supported.

In the next session, participants reflected on their experience so far, in small groups, reviewing new insights and reinforcing previously discarded ideas that had resurfaced. As a result of this, a display board of inspirations was exhibited for the rest of the weekend.

The Creative Workshops, including Art, Music and Creative Writing, were highly prized and well-liked and revealed the value and power of creativity as a tool for developing and reinforcing healing attitudes.

The evening session, ‘Strengthening Healing Attitudes’, was with Dadi Janki and focused on the quality of thoughts. She suggested that ‘reducing’ how much we think is crucial to creating the correct attitudes for healing. Since everything depends on our thoughts – our health, our relationships and the atmosphere - changing the quality of our thoughts is vital. Dadi explained the various influences on our thought processes and demonstrated how easy it can be to change our thoughts when we reduce the speed of our thinking process. Thinking excessively, for example when we talk about others, can make life complicated, may lead to ill health and promotes non-healing attitudes. We need to think about our responsibilities and keep our thoughts positive.

Dadi’s view on pain was simple: It is not necessary! She has observed enough pain in people and understood what causes pain to be clear about what to do. She advised that we can develop enough strength within ourselves, as she has done, based on spiritual love, truth and compassion, to overcome our own pain and to help others remove their pain.

With respect to needing time to help people to come up with their own answers, Dadi posed that it was a question of how we use time and thoughts to help them and doing it with a true heart. She sees compassion as the true religion of the spirit which can be used to serve oneself and others. The virtues of humility and truth allow us to have compassion, to forgive and forget.

The Sunday morning panel, ‘Living a Healing Attitude’, was chaired by David Goodman, with panellists Ms Astrid Bendomir, Breast Surgery Fellow at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Bill Wylie, Art therapist, Rampton Hospital; and Dr Prashant Kakode, ENT Surgeon.

Bill, working in a high security hospital, contrasted his approach of using art therapy as a medium to address the whole person, with the more reductive method of attempting to treat a defined disorder. He commented on a certain lack of compassion that is evident at times and on the importance of helping patients to realise who they are and discover how they managed to be in the situation they are in.

Astrid, working with life threatening illnesses in her patients, discussed the process of healing into health in terms of allowing patients choice and responsibility. What is our responsibility as carers in helping patients to heal? She views all illnesses as an opportunity for reflection, for going inwards to bring about healing and to find harmony. She sees herself as a protector of the patient’s vulnerability – facilitating the process of their transformation. Astrid reinforced the concept of patients as whole beings and not seeing the person as ill. Creating healing attitudes when we are healthy enables us to cope at times of health challenges.

Prashant discussed perception, awareness and how this can determine our own reality. For example, a cancer cell avidly consumes all the nutrition it can at the cost of other cells. It works for itself and not for the benefit of the whole body. Our society promotes an attitude that is similarly superficial, self-orientated and insecure. In contrast, to relate well to our patients, we have to relate from a point of security, from a healthy attitude and awareness, coming from within. This approach allows us to see others in their greatness, to see the soul. Doing this can help to transform the consciousness of the other; when the message resonates with the person, it generates healing.

An introduction to the ‘Values in Health Care – a spiritual approach’ personal and team development programme was given by Joy Rendell and Sarah Eagger. Participants were finally asked to make an action plan; using the analogy of a lighthouse, it was an opportunity to think of grounding, nurturing, radiating and sharing qualities or activities that they could introduce into their lives to create healing attitudes towards themselves and others.

In summary, observing the responses from participants during the weekend as well as their written evaluation of the event, it became clear that the space and opportunity for exploring their own understanding and responses to healing was provided. When asked to describe their overall feelings on leaving the retreat, many used words such as: calm, peaceful, nurtured, gratitude, hope, clarity, inspirational place and people, enlightened, relaxed, inspired, serenity, a sense of calm and resolve.

Suggestions for future retreats also came flowing in!

Carole Buchanan,
Freelance trainer.

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The Healing Power of Illness - January 2003

Patients and practitioners often have quite different perspectives towards an illness. The patient frequently deals with disorder, disruption and disintegration in his or her life, raising questions such as ‘Why me? Am I going to die?’ while the treatment provider has concerns such as ‘Can I help? Should I help? What are my limits?’

‘The challenge is to marry up these points of view’, said Arnold Desser, senior lecturer at the School of Integrated Health, University of Westminster, who was chairing this exploration of attitudes to illness.
Contributions from all the speakers reflected this fascinating dichotomy.

Hero or Despair
David Peters, Clinical Director for Primary Health Care at the School of Integrated Health, University of Westminster, who has also trained in osteopathy and homoeopathy, took up the theme of the mythic hero that abounds in every culture. The analogy is that we are all on a heroic journey, against the forces of death and disease in which we learn about the armour and warfare, but we need to awaken to our sense of journey and shared vulnerability. His concern is to integrate into mainstream healthcare what has dropped off from medicine – dealing with the whole person, not just the disease itself.

‘The medical profession is in a crisis because in focusing so much on illness mechanisms, it has tended to lose sight of the person who has the disease’, he argued. ‘Doctors could be asking, is this a spiritual as well as a physical malady? And how far can we transform this situation? For example, patients in the grip of a chronic or terminal disease may go through feelings of vulnerability, dependency, rage, uncertainty, or a sense of failure. However, with the right kind of help – bringing courage, hope and compassion - a patient can often experience a heightened sense of well-being and a state of grace, even in the midst of disease.

‘Illness is part of all our lives and stories, and each one of us is part of a greater story that continues to unfold through time.’

Dr Peters also raised the issue of whether healing is a single type of activity, or takes place at many levels. What can a doctor do for deep healing to take place? Patients have needs that, when met, may heal the soul.

Questions from the audience shed light on the how the language of healing and illness are linked – illness is how one feels when in the grip of disorder, while healing is moving to a new level of order and of relatedness to the world, self and others. One medic shared freely how he had been through cancer and had gone from a point of disillusionment to one of renewed zeal and gratitude for existence. This process had entailed saying sorry to a part of him that had misused the mind, and this had brought him another step into love.

Red Heart, Pink Heart, Gold Heart
Jacqueline Berg, a freelance journalist, writer and lecturer living in Amsterdam, told of her own journey from life-threatening illness and complete burnout, to transformation and healing. Ms Berg, who initiated a Working Group for Spiritual Health to bridge the gap between mainstream medical science and alternative ways of treatment in Holland, said her capacity for living went from ‘200% to 0%’. She had a heart attack and only years later understood a message from a spiritual leader to the effect that ‘this is just a small scene in the great drama of life’. Attempting to understand the benefit in her ‘scenes’, she went through emotional stages that included denial, anger, acceptance and surrender. At that point, deep healing began to take place and the feelings in her heart transformed.

Ms Berg spoke of three hearts that represent different stages of the journey. ‘It begins with the red heart, that loves and shares but has a shadow in that it often breaks,’ she said. ‘It knows jealousy and rejection and can be ruined by hurt or anger but it ends with the gold heart, which also loves, but has spiritual strength and beauty. This heart is unaffected by people or influences and continues to give whatever happens.

‘Travelling from one heart space to the other, there is a point of no return where the pink heart is experienced, an in-between stage made possible when the red heart meets unconditional love and compassion.

‘It was the point where I said sorry to myself and others in my life, and a new energy was generated – that of forgiveness.’ The pink heart was a beautiful experience … ‘the heart of truth, honesty and unconditional love in relationship. With this support, which brought out my capacity to self-heal, I was able to let go of sorrow from the past and to recognise the “false ego” within myself – the false sense of who I am, the positions I’ve held, the titles given to me, the gender of my body etc.’

Ms Berg shared her hope that all patients would seek to experience the ‘pink heart’ - unconditional, spiritual love - in order to heal at a spiritual level and not simply seek a physical ‘cure’. I have now reached a point where I love myself, and I feel that every patient could do this with help.’

She added: ‘It is important for doctors to meditate, so they are able to share the healing power of inner silence rather than use silence to protect themselves through professional distance and arrogance.’ In order to develop the necessary humility and compassion, strength is needed. Entreating doctors to listen as well as treat, she quoted: ‘It is not the medicine but the hand behind the medicine that heals’. The attitude and love of the health professional facilitates healing.

Repair and Refuel… Choose your garage with care! Dadi Janki, 87-year-old president of the Janki Foundation, used the symbol of a car and its driver to illustrate the difference between the body and the person who inhabits it – the soul. ‘A driver knows that from time to time his vehicle will need servicing and repair, and that sometimes only a skilled mechanic will know what the car needs to keep it going. In the same way, when the body becomes sick it is signalling to us that we need to restore balance in our lives. Feelings such as anxiety, fear, sorrow, or insecurity about the future, or being careless and impatient, may all cause overheating and excessive wear and tear.’

Dadi Janki commented that she actually never considers herself to be ill. Then, pain often goes away. She accepts that life is about learning as well as living. ‘So, when my body is unwell, I take my mind into inner silence and allow healing. By not over-using my mind, [something she has learnt over many years] I avoid burnout and my heart is nourished by positive feelings such as honesty, compassion and love.’

Doctors cannot give medicine for sorrow and worry, but they can give empathy and support the patient. ‘The professionals’ role is to give attention and treatment with love,’ Dadi said.

She added: ‘Doctors also need to take care of themselves, ensuring that they stay free from worry and sorrow, as the stability that this brings enables them to do their job accurately. Definitely, whole person care should be given by whole people! And that is what is missing. Doctors can help themselves by working from a point of shared humanity and by using spiritual values in helping others with feelings of peace, compassion and mercy.’

One of the obstacles to this is ego, so the profession needs humility. But also, patients need faith. ‘If there is faith in the doctor, he will play his role well. A doctor is a human being too, so let mutual respect be there and this will help healing.’ Whereas competition and criticism can precipitate illness, forgiving and forgetting are imperative to healing. If more professionals were to understand this, there would be greater love – and less illness.

By Toots Beckett

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Stress-Free Living
A Seminar for Parkside Health - May 2001

May 2001 saw Global Co-operation House host a special seminar on stress-free living. Specifically for the employees of Parkside Health, Dr Naseem Mahzar, retired general practitioner and part-time family planning physician, ensured that invitations were sent to staff – medical, nursing, managerial and administrative - at all 18 sites and also to women’s services at Ealing, Harrow and Hillingdon Trusts.

Over 80 people attended the first session which looked at understanding stress, that it works at different levels and how to break the stress cycle. Seminar leader Mike George, as international management consultant and coach by profession and author of several publications, including ‘Discover Inner Peace – An Illustrated Guide to Personal Enlightenment’, offered two follow-up sessions. The first explored more deeply where stress originates and how our values can help. The final session encouraged participants to define relationships and reflect on how they give and receive energy in the form of love and respect in the context of relating.

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Invitation to Dance:
Seminar on ‘Older & Wiser' – 2002

There's something new happening to oldness, according to Dr Ursula King, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol . At The Janki Foundation seminar ‘Older and Wiser', an exploration of ageing and spirituality, she began her presentation, “Linking ageing and spirituality is, for me, making connections, like weaving a tapestry. We are experiencing a new season in the process of ageing. In previous generations people did not become so old or stay so old for so long. Growing older is a process linked to a special awareness. We have an enormous privilege in being able to reflect on the adventure to come.”

But this time of contemplation is not without its conflicts. “It is a time of resting, and a time of wrestling with inner thoughts”, Dr King said. This point and counterpoint, stillness and movement in understanding, she likened to the steps of a dance, the dance of the soul. “When we stop growing physically and when our mental powers begin to decline, we can comfort ourselves with the notion that we continue to grow spiritually.”

John Fleet, recently retired from his post in oro-maxillo-facial surgery in Jersey , spoke of his demanding work and a succession of depressive illnesses which culminated in a consultant psychiatrist's verdict: “ Under no circumstances are you to go to work again!”

“The suddenness of this was like coping with the sudden death of a loved one”, he said. “I went through the same well-known stages of grief: denial, sorrow, anger, guilt and acceptance.” Resolution came to him through a book by Craig Brown, Optimum Healing: “When something happens in life in an adverse way, say to yourself what is the message, for me, in this now?”

With the passing months came an answer. “Is this an opportunity to do something else?” He learnt to meditate and went in the local prison in Jersey to teach meditation to the inmates. “I keep a Latin inscription in my office Docendo Disco , I teach in order to learn . And this is the stage I'm at, extending my own spiritual awareness by teaching others.” John condensed his personal experience into three words: accept, adjust and achieve.

Michaela von Britzke, psychiatric social worker and psychotherapist working with the elderly, warned that her presentation would not be an intellectual one, but come from her own experience “…which I have lived through, scratched my head through, and danced through.” True to her word, she proceeded to dance. “I take my body to demonstrate ….spiritual development.” She turned elegant circles with her arms outstretched, spinning with one arm raised and one lowered, like a gyroscope.

“Why should older people be necessarily wiser than younger ones?”, she asked. “I think we younger people fall for so-called ‘gracious' older people because they are a lot easier to manage. That very fact should make the challenge to growing old disgracefully a real invitation.”

Finally the Foundation's President, Dadi Janki, at 86 still very active, was interviewed by the chair of the seminar, Dr Sarah Eagger, consultant psychiatrist for the elderly and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College School of Medicine in London.

Dadi was asked for the key to successful ageing. “Confidence”, she replied. “Confidence in the self and in the soul. Then there's a feeling that success is my birthright.”

In the last few years Dadi has come through numerous illnesses, and is no stranger to pain. Asked, “What carries you beyond the pain?” she replied, “The pain is there, but there isn't any suffering attached to it. I've learnt to do this through meditation and I am not afraid of illness. If I'm still sitting here, I am content, but if it is time to leave, I am also content. I say to God, I'm happy to go or stay as you please.”

Dadi, who has had her teachings published in a book entitled Companion of God , speaks of this lifetime companion with ease. “I am useful to Him so He has responsibility for me. Sometimes I laugh with him in conversation. I say, “When you have a task to be done, you make me alert, and when your task is over you say, ‘Go and rest!'”

Although all four speakers gave different perspectives, each spoke of rest, relaxation, serenity and quietude in the later years, but also of the work that has to be done, as the tasks of old age.

Dadi's message to older people: “May you always have pure thoughts and a heart full of good wishes for others. Then we shall dance!”

Davina Lloyd, Freelance Journalist

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Medicine and the Art of Communication: Afternoon Seminar and Workshop - September 2002

Chaired by Joy Rendell, senior occupational therapist in prosthetics, the speakers included Craig Brown, GP and author, and Elaine Horne, retired psychotherapist and mental health nurse, working with MIND on race and cultural issues.

Elaine spoke about the need to listen with the intent to learn, to listen with all senses, to listen deeply from the heart with respect. We do listen to our friends, our elders, our family, our colleagues, to strangers and even to ourselves, but with different attitudes and to different degrees. It is when we listen to our inner being, the inner awareness that we start to communicate from a level influenced or shaped by the best in ourselves and so we reach the best in others.

In deep silence, we can hear the need of the client: from silence, the response is non-judging, powerfully neutral.

Elaine also discussed the value of trust. Trust engenders trust, and we need to trust ourselves before others can trust us; trust comes from self esteem. She talked about cultural influences and that respect in one culture is often misunderstood by authority figures in another. Certain forms of behaviours may be seen as insolence or ignorance.

Craig Brown – General Practitioner, author of ‘Optimum Healing’ and past president of the National Federation of Spiritual Healers, gave a historical overview of this topic.

Thirty years ago, doctors were not trained in communication. The doctors were the experts and there was a parent-child relationship between doctor and patient. Thus the patient became disempowered and the doctor arrogant! Michael Balint, GP and Psychotherapist, expressed the view that the doctor was the medicine. The way a professional handles the consultation and treats the patient, the way the patient deals with his/her feelings was in itself the medicine.

Balint groups for GPs were very popular in the 1960s, but never quite made it to hospital settings. The British Holistic Medical Association, with its motto that the mind, body and spirit all need to be addressed, gave an important message to health professionals: ‘Physician heal thyself’. This needs addressing as much today as ever.

Over the last 10-15 years, complementary and alternative practices have become increasingly popular, because they give time to their clients, in relaxed settings, as well as offering different concepts of medicine, energy and balance.

GP consultations today are typically 7.5 minutes each. How much is it possible to listen or communicate in this setting? What can professionals in pressured settings do to support themselves and go some way to alleviating their patients’ suffering?

Building on the concepts of listening to the inner being and the spiritual healing idea of being a channel for compassionate energy, Dr Brown facilitated the practice of compassionate listening for the rest of the session.

[compassionate listening can be found in Values in healthcare, session 4]

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Building Bridges:
A Seminar Linking Spirituality with Mental Healthcare - 14th January 2001

Anne Kilcoyne, a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, with an interest in theatre and the complex process of balancing spirit, mind and body to facilitate healing, chaired this delicate topic with lightness and sensitivity.

Dr Larry Culliford, consultant psychiatrist for an NHS mental health trust in Brighton, and author of a series of self-help books, the latest on ‘Happiness', has a deep interest in Christian and Buddhist disciplines. He presented an overview of clinical studies looking at clients', nurses' and psychiatrists' views on spirituality. He found both clients' needs and professionals' aspirations were closely matched when they were asked about the benefits and quality of holistic care, which include healing of the spirit.

The way forward rests not only within traditional religious confines. Pooling resources, working together, to both assess and provide access to the nourishment of spiritual needs, would help fulfil hopes and aspirations. Larry commented that many people undergoing mental health crises are really attempting to make sense of their own ‘meaning of life' questions. Happiness, joy, contentment and satisfaction were identified as foci or, quoting Marianne Zentna, ‘spiritual health skills', upon which meditation can throw light and which greatly enhance the practice of the mental health practitioner.

Mike Gartland, an Anglican priest, with special interest in Buddhist psychotherapy and psychodynamic therapy, and a trained CPN, is head of pastoral and spiritual care in an acute NHS mental health facility. His work co-ordinating the Hampton Trust and Retreat Centre in Yorkshire , enables him to speak from the heart about issues concerning the interface of spirituality and healthcare.

Mike gave us an interesting overview of various attitudes towards mental illness, i.e. madness, secular culture versus mystical interpretations of God and also the comparison of ‘religious belief' and spirituality in general. He spoke of a study of 1000 patients, which highlighted the need for their spiritual issues to be addressed as a first choice, within an integrated medical approach. He spoke of the silence and stillness experienced by people in retreat, which pacified and quietened the mind. He observed that within this silence, the capacity for inner healing was enhanced.

Mike also spoke of the fascinating examples in history of the ‘Holy Fool on fire with the love of God' and related examples such as St Francis of Assisi and Sir Richard Rawle. Clients also may be searching for ‘God' and Mike concluded that clinical practice coupled with spiritual values and openness can ultimately enable clients and practitioners in securing a healing environment.

Prashant Kakode, ENT surgeon and Director of the Centre for Integral Health Cambridge, practises Ayurvedic medicine and co-ordinates the meditation centre in Cambridge . Lecturing globally on spiritual consciousness and its relationship to physical and mental health, Prashant outlined clearly the problems for many in society who, while attaining material comfort and financial equilibrium, still suffer from low self-esteem.

Prashant cited several studies and sources describing how the ghost of unfulfilled desires haunts the fabric of society. These images of the unfulfilled self produce exaggerated expectations, resulting in ‘want' and total frustration for the individual. The solution needs to address this: “If needs are reduced, we experience greater peace and happiness; we are then able to accept situations more easily”. Prashant called for a completely new approach to the health and well-being of the individual in society based on spiritual consciousness.

In the question and answer session, metaphysical and moral dilemmas with which carers and practitioners are faced daily, were very sensitively explored by all members of the panel. Dadi Janki, President of the Janki Foundation and Joint Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University , spoke of root causes and possible solutions. Over her 64 years of spiritual and physical endeavours, she has observed that fear, insecurity and hopelessness are three factors that lead to depression and expressed that the heart must be connected to truth, love and peace in daily life to overcome such influences. She elaborated, “When constant love can be given, anyone's life can become invaluable; the trick is to instil hope and inspiration in those who are ill, so they too can serve society.” Speaking on awakening spiritual values throughout society, she ended, “Service without any desire is a healing force that can pr omote harmony and healing to all humanity.”

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Understanding Love: Seminar - July 2000

Hosted by Global Co-operation House in Willesden, this event was attended by over 200 delegates and was chaired by Dr David Goodman. Dr Roger Cole, an oncologist and palliative care physician from Wollongong, Australia and author of ‘Mission of Love: A physician's personal journey towards a life beyond’, spoke from a personal, experiential perspective. He commented that compassion, a humanitarian value, is easily shown simply by listening to patients, hearing their problems and communicating to them what their illness entails. When these basic needs are met, “people feel the kindness in you".

Dr Cole continued, "Apart from competence, I feel there are two qualities that are really important in health care: truth and compassion. Compassion gives comfort and truth gives peace, through understanding. Even with my terminal patients, I have noticed that healing does occur after they have come to terms with their loss. Having negotiated the stages of disbelief, anger, blame, hopelessness and bargaining, many patients reach the stage of acceptance. This is a beautiful state of being. I have seen peace or radiance surrounding that person and it's like love. They have let go and peace emerges from within."

It was while attending a workshop run by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1984 that he experienced what was to change his personal and professional life. "An experience that took me deep into my soul, I experienced my heart becoming full - a welling of pure unconditional love. Every part of me filled with this pure love I felt I became pure love. It wasn't love attached to anybody or for anybody, it was just pure love. I felt so light. I looked up in to the room and felt uplifted. I felt bodiless, as though a spiritual window had opened and there was a sense of being reached by God's love." Defining it further, "It seemed universal, like an unifying compassion for all of humanity. Pure compassion is not based in nor a reaction to sorrow but a loving state, based in peace." For three weeks he remained in this awareness. "I came to understand that you can love everyone equally, feel for all souls, not just the one in front of you." On a clinical and practical note, Dr Cole said, "One doesn't have to change others, as true unconditional love reveals truth and thus transforms. I just remain peaceful and comfortable while they talk; this carries comfort and heals hearts."

Sister Jayanti, European Director of BKWSU and Trustee of the Janki Foundation, emphasised that peace, love and compassion are experiences, not just words, and requested the audience to pause to reflect in silence on their own experience of unconditional love. The Janki Foundation, she explained, is interested in how practitioners respond to the pressures of healthcare, or “how the carer returns to his/ her peace, centredness or wholeness. We still look [for love] on the horizontal but unconditional love comes from the Divine." She commented, "Expecting to have our need for love met by another human being does not bring fulfilment; instead, it acts as a drain as no human being is full. Love from the infinite source, the Divine is not always easy because we have blocks. However, just as even a huge block of ice rapidly melts once out in the sun, so even a touch of divine love or the sweetness of divine love does reach the soul, when it is ready."

Using almost the same terminology to describe pure love, Sister Jayanti stated, "Love is inclusive, all encompassing, pure and powerful, very peaceful. It encourages growth and development, removes sorrow and pain, never inflicts pain and brings happiness." On the other hand, "… attachment (often mistaken for love) or possessiveness is present when there is exclusiveness or pain or any give or take of sorrow". The solution is to “become aware of yourself as a spiritual being, a point of light and connect with the source of pure love; then you will see others with this vision of love and this, in itself, is healing." Sister Jayanti also mentioned truth and compassion as two important values in healthcare. "The truth is that of integrity and honesty in my motive and the compassion is of putting another human being first."

Dadi Janki gave a presidential address and spoke of the necessity of being aware of one's own spirituality to draw God's love and to give naturally and selflessly to others. "Becoming the image of love and giving others this experience, there is no need for words - feelings alone give this experience." However there are blocks. “Being trapped by our own nature, feeling tired or irritable, making mistakes, feeling misunderstood. In these situations, we forget about giving and receiving love. Having had to tolerate so much pain ourselves, we feel unable to have empathy for one another." She suggested, "Remind yourself we are all travellers on the same journey, children of one God, with a bond of love uniting us all. Patience allows you to be the image of love" and so "don't talk or think in a hurry, but give medicine with love."
She ended the afternoon requesting everyone to join her in an experience of deep silence.

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The Reflective Practitioner Symposium
Wisdom in Action - 20 th January 1999

On the 20th January 1999, the Janki Foundation held a symposium at the Royal Society of Medicine that brought together 150, largely NHS, health professionals: hospital consultants, GPs, nurses and managers to explore deeply the concept of reflective practice.

Sponsored by the Janki Foundation, the aim of this event was to encourage busy professionals to take a few minutes to reflect, self-examine and increase their awareness of inner quiet and values-based practice. Sister Jayanti Kirpalani, Trustee of the Janki Foundation, in her address on self-awareness and contemplation, suggested: “Even while taking a glass of water, take time to reflect on your core values of peace, love and truth. These values, although innate and integral to our being, need to be accessed and attended to, despite external influences, in order to maintain integrity.”

Dr Alison Hill, Director of ‘Effective Practice’ at the King’s Fund, described her own personal and professional journey to reflection. For each consultation she now asks herself: ‘What values or feelings did I bring into that encounter?’ and encouraged the audience to do likewise.

To explore this theme further, Anne Radford, management consultant, conducted a very popular appreciative inquiry session in which all participants were encouraged to observe and honour their uniqueness and share values they hold in common within their practice. The values thus collated included altruism, commitment, deep listening, empathy, learning from patients, serving respectfully, valuing, respecting the divinity in others, willingness to change and fulfilling the potential for both patient and practitioner.

Utilising case histories, two other speakers expanded on the theme of self-examination and reflection. Dr Christopher Johns, Reader in Advanced Nursing Practice, University of Luton, speaking about a dying patient, shared, “Using honesty with the self and my own internal supervisor I was able to explore uncomfortable emotions and even ask ‘Who am I?’ ‘Who is this?’ while exploring meaning with my client.” He said: “Emotional energy does not have to be negative, it can be used positively to facilitate growth” and concluded. “The reflective journey often begins a spiritual journey.”

Ms Marilyn Miller-Pietroni, adult psychotherapist and previously a lecturer at the University of Westminster said that in her personal journey from psychotherapy to meditation, she discovered that “reflection is a mind that watches itself. It is disciplined and not research-free." She emphasised that each client encounter is a new one and recommended, “Every health practitioner needs a state of ‘calm receptiveness’ in order to avoid bias arising from the last session, past interaction or a desire for definitive outcome.”

Also presenting was Dr Kieran Sweeney, GP and lecturer at Exeter University, who put forward a strong argument for values-based medicine utilising science in preference to the current unipolar emphasis on evidence-based practice. He commented that, “For an ill person to heal, he or she has to be able to trust the practitioner and for this the medical practitioner must be ‘virtuous’." He expanded, “To act rightly, certain qualities are essential and my list would include humility, hope and moral courage."

In her presidential address Dadi Janki spoke about spirituality as the basis of values, virtues, inner power and happiness. “Just as drugs go through a procedure of experimentation and research so I have experimented for years with virtues." She said: “Values depend on virtues, which are evident through our actions and relationships. When one experiences pain, such as that encountered through competition and criticism, a virtue such as tolerance, patience, peace or love is missing and that virtue is required to remove the hurt." Dadi also invited the audience to join her in a few moments of deep silence.

Woven together by interludes of reflection to music and silence, Dr Alison Hill summed up. “It has been an unusual day, with moments of peace, focusing on putting the humanity back into medicine.” Dr Ray Bhatt, consultant in metabolic medicine and Chair of the Janki Foundation, closed by thanking Dadi for lending her name and inspiration to this innovative foundation.

Dr Kala Mistry,
Staff Psychiatrist

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Dying – A Healing Art
Seminar - November 1999


“It’s a funny old world and we’re lucky to get out of it alive!” WC Fields, Hollywood.

On Sunday 28th November an afternoon seminar entitled ‘Dying - a Healing Art’ was held at the Brahma Kumaris’ international coordinating centre, Global Co-operation House, London. It was an occasion for all present to let go of some of the more common and negative understandings surrounding death and to explore the process from a positive and spiritual perspective.

Dr. Ashok Mehta, consultant oncologist and specialist in head and neck surgery at several Bombay hospitals, India, talked of some basic spiritual concepts. “I see myself as a soul, living in and expressing myself through the body and so death is a passing through, not an end.” He contrasted the common modern, medical approach of struggle to keep the patient alive, with a spiritually aware attitude of peace-filled acceptance.

Dr. Nina Swires, consultant in palliative medicine, works with people “for whom death has gone wrong and is often a struggle”. She asks herself the question “How can I help those who are not spiritual to move towards peace?” In her clinical experience, she found the first step is often a transition from ‘Why me?’ to the deeper question of ‘Who am I?’ Typically, her patients shift from contemplating the loss of their now-redundant physical role to an appreciation of the value of relationships and how these outlive physical usefulness until, finally, they are able “to find an inner place of peace and forgiveness”. She stated for health workers, “We can support people in this ‘breakthrough’ but must be aware that death is a very personal experience.” In the final stages, one lady wrote, “They are my family and friends but there’s a part of me that doesn’t belong to them … It’s my death, not theirs.” Nina has observed, “The key seems to be to see it as a transition … to a new existence.”

Dr. Peter Fenwick, consultant neuropsychiatrist at the Maudsley, with a keen research interest in consciousness, expanded fascinatingly on the topic of transition. Using experimental and anecdotal data, he spoke about ‘death-bed visions’ as observed in an intensive care unit in 1959 and 1961. “Death bed visions”, he said, “appear in the last 24 hours, to herald death and are noted to frequently bring to the patient, peace, comfort and a readiness to move on.” In contrast, the near death experience (NDE), now very well documented, often brings a message on how to live. An air traffic-controller, in a BBC interview, explained, “It is impossible to die!” He experienced “my soul merging into the divine” and a feeling of unity with all humanity. Yet in relation to how we live, he commented, “You get exactly what you deserve ……it is utterly fair.”

In Dr Fenwick’s own study of NDE, which included those who had attempted suicide, he noted, “Typically there are feelings of peace and joy, a sense of freedom and time speeding up, traveling through a dark tunnel and seeing a light, usually described as an incredible white or golden-white light that is ‘universal love’, containing a mystical being thought to be God or a religious figure … and other figures usually relating to the patient personally or culturally. One person described a ‘wonderful landscape and such music’. Ultimately they reach a barrier of no return and have to make a decision to go on or return. Having returned, their fear of death is invariably removed.” Having previously recorded flat EEGs in unconscious patients, Dr. Fenwick suggested that “it is a likely conclusion that spiritual consciousness is separate from brain function.”

Dr Shirley Firth, having spent her youth in India (Andhra Pradesh), studied, for her doctoral thesis on world religions, the cultural approaches to death and dying of British Hindus. Using beautiful and humorous accounts, she illustrated the notion of a ‘good death’. Acceptance that death is OK and is purposeful is a requisite, as is confidence in the process, paying attention to unfinished business and learning how to ‘be’ rather than to ‘do’. A Hindu told her loved ones, “Don’t cry …your tears will make a river for me to cross …I’m going to God …Make me a light to show the way.” Others, such as ‘Grandma’, who didn’t feel it was polite to die while having visitors, demonstrated that it is possible to postpone death or to be aware of its timing and so to prepare.

Dr Firth concluded: “Illness often teaches patients how to ‘be’ and we, as health professionals, can help by learning to ‘be’ alongside the client, rather than ‘doing’. After all, the pain we think we observe may not be what the person is experiencing.”

Sister Jayanti, European Director of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, closed by relating the story of a recent ‘good death’ of a friend, a ‘modern Western woman’, who was able to make spiritual preparation before she passed on. Through being completely honest and clearing things in her mind, and practising the spiritual consciousness of being eternal and detached from her body, she was able to love and uplift others despite all her physical discomfort. Sister Jayanti emphasised the importance of actions so that “others remember the good that I’ve done and share blessings from their heart, not painful memories”. Giving the example of Dadi Janki “… who views every day as though it could be her last” she added, “Anyone can practise the spiritual awareness of being a point of light, functioning from the forehead and acting to bring happiness …and thus come close to the divine. It’s never too late; knowing the eternity of the soul, there is always an opportunity to make peace.”

The afternoon, interspersed with moments of beautiful flute music, closed in an atmosphere of silence and meditation.

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Core Values in Medicine
Retreat - May 1999

The ‘Reflective Practitioner’ engendered the idea of an event that would look more thoroughly at core values in healthcare and seek to deepen the experience of reflective practice. Therefore a ‘participant-centred’ retreat was held in the uniquely peaceful setting of the Global Retreat Centre at Oxford, the emphasis being less on papers, presentations and speakers and more on harnessing the innate creativity, experience and wisdom of each individual.

Anne Radford enabled us to access our core values by using the method of Appreciative Inquiry by asking, “What attracts you about the theme of the weekend?” She encouraged us to uncover the values we already deploy as we shared what made a ‘high point’ in our working lives and which values underpinned that experience.

In the following plenary session, over fifty core values were identified, of which ten were selected for the next workshop, ‘The Poetry of Values’. Led by Anne Kilcoyne, we reflected on the images our value evoked: Freedom? Humility? What flower, what fruit, what landscape, what person do these values evoke in you? Taking us to the heart of our intuition, each of us wrote four lines of poetry or prose. This collated writing was harnessed in the next plenary session of one hour’s meditation. As the verses were read out, a special quality of stillness enveloped the room, the natural outcome of focussing on what we value and cherish in our work. I have selected a sample:

Humility
Humility is the gift you gave me
When I loved you through your dying days
Peace, dignity, acceptance
The memory of your loving ways

Courage
Courage is both loud and soft, both enduring and immediate.
Courage is the strength to accept fear and be open to criticism and threat.
Courage rises to the occasion and turns anxiety to confidence.
Courage sustains in adversity

Love
Green, green grass. Trees dancing on mountains,
Solid, strong, sustaining.
The glowing warmth of unconditional acceptance
Lets me be

Freedom
Freedom, the sprightly dance, the tossing head of yellow hair,
The mango juices coursing down my chin.
Freedom, the child’s cry of sheer joy,
Swimming the path of sunlight in the ocean of eternity

Intuition
Intuition is the essence of thought
The pearl of wisdom in the oyster of truth
The difference that makes the difference
Between the mundane and the divine

Integrity
To be safe enough to feel
To be wise enough to know
To be brave enough to do
To be free enough to grow

Honesty
A bed in a hospital, white sheets, steel bowls.
Her words were hard in the dying embers of her life.
She asked my forgiveness for her years of judgement.
The burden of my confusion slipped away and love suffused us both

Peace
From inner peace I will be speaking my truth
Gently but completely
Wearing it like a wing
To fly over all misunderstanding

Compassion
Compassion is a deep understanding of sorrow and pain
Dealt with by inner spiritual strength
Feelings of joy, love and peace shared by others

Connectedness
Calm water flows through my joy and sorrow
And carries me, connects me. In my journey from then to now
Alone we may feel, together we are.
Move a little, the ripples touch all

On Saturday evening Dadi Janki gave an inspiring talk on values, stressing the importance of the ‘diet’ we give our mind. Feeding it with virtues and qualities and not irrelevant chatter, our mind gives us all we need. Our minds and hearts can then create an atmosphere that patients take nourishment from. If we focus on their pain or sorrow, the unhappiness becomes contagious. If we remind our clients of their qualities and strengths, we help them to overcome on-going negative traits that prolong illness and confusion in their minds. Someone asked Dadi, “How do I avoid confusion?” Her reply was “…look after your self-esteem. Lose one virtue and your self-esteem shakes. Make values and virtues the basis of your life, not people or things.”

The evening was rounded off with entertainment: song, dance and a delightful piano recital, a ‘fitting dessert’ for a very nourishing day!

On Sunday morning we had a 'treasure hunt' for values which took us on a tour of all the significant monuments and vantage points of the retreat gardens, whilst encouraging reflection on our inner treasures. The final plenary session, chaired by Philippa Dolley (presenter of Woman’s Hour, Radio 4), was a panel interview and open discussion. Sister Jayanti spoke of the need for discipline to focus the mind peacefully. She particularly emphasised dignity and trust: the necessity of inner dignity and detachment to protect us in times of vulnerability whilst allowing respect to come through. Regarding trust, “It is when my conscience is guiding me, rather than my emotions, that I trust myself more and more and then I’ll reach out and trust you.”

Dr David Goodman, Community Dentist, currently working with Bradford Community Health Trust on an initiative to re-emerge values in the work place, spoke of the need to recognise and empower personal values, and to acknowledge and appreciate the values held by work colleagues. In his work, David feels it is the balance between compassion and detachment that is the vital ingredient. In the discussion that followed there was concern about poor communication, reactive responses and fragmentation within the NHS. Many participants, however, saw the latter as a necessary transitional phase to renewal and holism within medicine generally.

It was an extraordinary retreat, peaceful and relaxed, yet vibrant with hope, positivity, warmth and goodwill. Our heartfelt thanks went to Dr Eagger, the team of co-operative helpers, the excellent cooks and our hosts, the workshop creators: Anne Radford and Anne Kilcoyne, and the participants for sharing so generously their creativity and wisdom.

Carol Evans
MA, humanistic psychotherapist

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The Art of Self Healing
Retreat - October 1998

This retreat was a wonderful exploration of the theme both within the plenary sessions and workshops and also over the dining tables and during walks in the grounds! Participants sought to understand the topics intellectually and spiritually in the warm, clear, friendly atmosphere offered by the Brahma Kumaris, our hosts at the Global Retreat Centre.

On the first evening, we considered whether the process of healing is it an art or a science. I don’t think we answered this, but we asked many questions such as ‘What is the self?’ ‘What is being healed?’ ‘What is the healing process?’ and even ‘What is “the art”?’

Many descriptions of the healing process emerged over the weekend:

“The practitioner guides the patient across a meandering, turbulent river; they sit in the canoe together and need to skilfully negotiate rapids and all other obstacles that occur in their path.” Dr Ray Bhatt.

“The spiritual healing approach, such a puzzle to the mechanistic scientific mind, is that when kind thoughts of good, positive, healing feelings are directed to an individual it can have a measurable effect on the patient.” [Dr Craig Brown, GP] “The spiritual view of illness is that it has a purpose; it is there as a gift with signposts on it to help you progress spiritually. That is a very radical view to take on board.”… “An outcome in healing could be improvement of dignity and personal growth as well as the removal of symptoms.”

Jayanti Kirpalani, Trustee: “For me everything starts inside in terms of the spirit. What am I carrying in terms of my feelings? Healing is to be able to come back to the natural state of being – of love, peace, joy and truth that is the destination and also the journey. I will give to others whatever I have within, so I must find a way to acknowledge the pain and return to my state of joy.”

“Welcome the illness – love it and engage with it. We know there is a connection between mind and body - we can use it to heal or to destroy.” Maurice Newbound, Vice-President of the British Complementary Medicine Association

We then asked ourselves, ‘What do I do to heal myself – meditation, music, relaxation, walking - or do I push myself?’ As practitioners we need to take care of ourselves so that our strength and insight can help patients; sometimes defences are required to protect us from burnout but to be sensitive and accepting of our own vulnerability is essential for healing. To self-heal, we need to create space for silence and self-nurture with the right food of positive thoughts.

Regarding the patient-practitioner relationship, so crucial for the healing process and for the well-being of both, the practitioner seeks to be fully present mentally and physically, empowering clients through information, insights and advice, to bring out their own natural healing mechanisms. As we work with patients we should ask ourselves: What are we going to learn? What is our attitude towards them? What are our expectations? What is our vision? Do we feel responsible for their illness? Ultimately, they have created it and are responsible for it. In this partnership, we have a certain understanding that we share but the client decides what to do with it. Thus we guide them to be independent.

Also discussed was the topic of how values influence our state of well-being. Here follows a synopsis of what I found of interest:

Belief: Do you believe you can be well? Do you believe in yourself? Self-esteem is a tool to help enhance self-belief.

Love: Words of love heal. I heal myself through being rested, peaceful and silent. Let me maintain my interest in spirituality as this gives strength to my body and mind.

Faith: Faith in my eternal self first and in the higher power, God. Faith in that Supreme energy brings inner strength, courage and energy automatically and very naturally. Without faith, there is fear. Research shows that the process of healing is more powerful and effective in patients and families who have faith.

Humour: Humour is also linked to healing and may be defined as creating a state of inner happiness that is independent of the situation and outside influences. Humour enhances the immune system and raises our pain threshold.

Honesty: Honesty strengthens the heart and allows us to avoid performing any actions that make us weak.

Acceptance: By acknowledging the feeling of discomfort or limitation on any level, we can work to resolve it. We cannot change others, situations, or the weather but we can change our responses to diseases, people, situations etc.

Trust: I trust the patient(s) to take the treatment – do patients trust themselves to? Do we trust ourselves to treat patients?

Choice: Choice and trust are inter-linked. Tending to just absorb and not deliberately choose our thoughts, we need to set time aside and use a filter to consciously develop a real vision of the self which is absolutely natural and healthy. For the spirit, the natural state of health is to have love, peace and joy yet, currently, we have moved so far to being ill-at-ease.

Learning: To be able to learn from mistakes of the past and have the courage to change without carrying a burden of guilt.

Good Actions: Whatever you have to do, do it now without going into what it was like in the past or how you may respond in the future: focus on the present.

Wealth: Some people feel wealth creates health and others say it destroys it. Health does not entirely depend on our budget but using wealth in a worthwhile way maintains health. Using it for others, we receive blessings and good wishes and these make us strong.

Joy Rendell
Senior Occupational Therapist and
Trustee of The Janki Foundation

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