A unique self-help health program began with wanting answers and evolved into a superb holistic health program.
Part 1 — A Conversation with Brother Promise
I had a conversation with a loving, joyous, youthful monk, living and developing a holistic health program to enrich the lives and health of others. He is a fellow writer on Substack, where I publish my Mind Wise newsletter, where I discovered his work and connected with him.
Impactful experiences critically affect a person’s choices, life direction, meaning, and perspective.
Finding the right words to describe the indescribable
Difficulty describing profound and highly impactful events is a challenge for most, as words cannot capture the essence and totality of the happening. There are talented writers, poets, spiritual masters, and philosophers who have come close to conveying the mystery and otherworldliness of personal and profound, unique experiences. Experiences can be momentary, powerful, ecstatic, liberating, and enlightening, or painful, life-threatening, tragic, traumatic, and damaging. The event can occur over time with duress until circumstances change.
Enlightening expansive experience can be an accelerator for change and growth
A dynamic, momentary, or more prolonged experience can alter and mold your life and its expression.
Any of us can recall certain impactful events that may have significantly impacted our life experiences and choices. Today, for instance, was boiling and muggy with overhead threatening storm clouds and a distant rumble of an approaching thunderstorm. It took my mind back to a past eventful summer’s day. I was seventeen and had worked hard that summer, earning enough to have my first car, and began dating my childhood sweetheart, my future wife. My older brother, who was working with a seasoned builder and involved with a construction project, hired me for the summer to assist the job superintendent with whatever help he needed. I felt both lucky and proud to be relied on for everything that came up. I remember one of the heavy equipment drivers who was always bragging about his smooth ways and dating life. He would tease me about being green behind the ears and maybe a little spoiled.
My mother’s wise advice, the tragic vacation to see the Titanic wreckage, decision-making, and my close calls
A mother’s advice on travel and finding answers, meaning, and perspective
Once in my youth, not too long after beginning the stress and challenging times of medical training, I told my wife one evening in our small cozy apartment, “I need to take some vacation time off to wrap my head around all these current demands and changes. I need a break to gain perspective on the meaning and purpose of my newly chosen medical career path.” My wife and I agreed, so we planned and then set off on a long drive to a yoga retreat center in the mountains to meet, learn, and do practices with a popular and well-known yoga teacher.1
Resolving the political divide on the causes and solutions of active or mass shooter incidences may be in the link between mental health, depression, lethal weapons, and media influence.
There has been a lack of progress in passing new legislation and regulations to help curb the increase in mass shootings of innocent people. Tragic loss of life from mass shootings or active shooter incidences is now an almost daily occurrence and increasing. People feel helpless and angered that our elected officials, for-profit businesses, and organizations can’t have fruitful discussions or surmount their partisan stuck talking points and biases.1
It was early morning when I got a call from the chief of medicine and cardiologist at the community hospital where I was on staff. In a more worried voice, than was usual for him, he said, “Ron, could you stop by my office on your way to make rounds? It’s about your father. With everything I have tried, I can’t stabilize him. We need to make some decisions!” With that, I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. Our chief of medicine was the top cardiologist in the immediate area. When my father, during a visit to our home, had another one of his heart attacks, I had him admitted to our local hospital under the care of an experienced cardiologist.
Secretes to rejuvenating a stale, unhappy, and unproductive mind.
The stressful trip
I was preparing for a trip with my wife for a job interview halfway across the country at a prestigious university-affiliated hospital. I received calls several times during the prior year from the hospital recruiter. He was interested in me because of my experience in psychiatry and holistic medicine and the fact that I had worked for one of the leading practitioners of holistic medicine. Because interest and demand for complementary and alternative medicine were at an all-time high, his hospital wanted to set up its own unique department. I was considered a good fit for their needs. They offered me a considerable salary with other perks to make it of interest and value to me. My wife and I were ready to change for growth and new experiences, and my son was finishing his college program, so the timing and offer seemed perfect for us. Of course, it depended on their hiring me for the highly valued position.
In my early life and career, there were two incidences when I thought I would not survive and my future aspirations would be no more. These episodes seemed to happen in the so-called fate of the moment, with the saving grace of surviving a tragic outcome.
One incident reverberated in my mind when I hit the brakes with an almost intuitive decision that reversed what I thought would be a deadly consequence for my wife and me. The near-fatal incident was when I drove south for a vacation with my wife several years after our marriage. We were on a two-lane road with the glow of the future in front of us.
Finding Gratefulness and Wisdom after getting off the hook when netted in a deadly phishing scheme.
Vulnerability to a scam
Close calls frighten you to the core but can also provide you with the best lessons for growth and wisdom. I remember when I was young, the incidences where I thought I would lose my life, career, or all that seemed important. Fortunately, almost miraculously, there was a reprieve from a potentially disastrous ending to the misstep or flawed choice. Then there was much repair work, with some gained wisdom and plenty about which to talk.
When I came down with Stage III cancer shortly after and was extremely depressed and anxious about my diagnosis, he prescribed me the right medications to help me. He sent me to a diet/ herbalist/ acupuncturist specializing in cancer. I am a survivor today.
In the fifteen years, we have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Ron Parks, his integrity, knowledge, and humanity have shown in both his professional and personal interactions.
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