Tag: meditation

Collage of pictures with the theme of renewal and healing from depression, the flowing river, joy, and wisdom.

Don’t Push the River: A Father’s Awakening to Nature’s Reality

Written by Ron Parks, MD on December 10, 2025. Posted in Depression, Dreamwork, Grief and Loss, Happiness, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mental Health, Mood, Personal Growth, Spirituality & Health. 1 Comment on Don’t Push the River: A Father’s Awakening to Nature’s Reality

Embracing Life’s Ebb and Flow

A Father’s Journey Back to Himself

My father, then in his seventies, was sitting a short way off from me on the sandy, gravel-like beach that bounded a wide, rapid-flowing river that ran from the mountains through the bottom of the national park where we were staying. The impressive, mighty flowing river absorbed all your thoughts into its splendid displays of power, freedom, nature’s natural beauty, and almighty presence. The morning light emanating from the sky, awakening the senses to the river’s enormity and nature’s presence, seemed to softly filter through curtains of mental fog and preoccupations, like a whisper. He appeared for the first time in weeks to release his tension and despair, the sense of loss, and hopelessness. Now he radiated the spirit of someone who had found his soul and regained his footing and sense of purpose.

Collage of pictures with the theme of neurodiversity, adjusted and challenged children and adults with ADHD or ASD and finding acceptance and peacefulness with nature,

ADHD Reality—The focus and distraction dilemma

Written by Ron Parks, MD on January 3, 2025. Posted in ADD/ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Getting Things Done, holistic mental healthcare, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Integrative Therapies, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mental Health, Neurodiversity, neuroscience, Unique Talent Attributes.

Practical choices for surviving and thriving

A call about ADHD and life difficulties

A distressed family member and colleague recently called me. They complained they were very nervous and worried as they were failing and falling behind in their part-time university studies and felt hopeless about ever completing their coursework for their degree. Their full-time jobs and careers also seemed at risk from lack of focus and concentration, interfering with their productivity and completing assigned tasks and vital projects. A threatening and contentious work supervisor was applying pressure to get more done. There was a real risk of getting fired. A recently valued relationship was also on “the rocks” and near the breaking point. The unfortunate load of adverse challenges seemed to recur frequently, as has often been a regrettable plight. There was a track record of difficulty with social relationships and problems succeeding in challenging academic and work-related situations.

Collage of picture of New Year, lightening the candles, cycle of light to darkness, the celebration, the grief, loss, the spiritual connection, enlightenment.

New Year’s—the hope, meaning, and the promise

Written by Ron Parks, MD on January 4, 2024. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Depression, Grief and Loss, Happiness, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Meditation/Mindfulness, neuroscience, Non-duality, Personal Growth, Spirituality & Health.

The holidays are a time for reflection and an opportunity to rebalance self-needs, relationships, spirituality, and wisdom.

Collage of pictures of the experience of wellness and wellbeing and related activities

Cory Costanzo’s Journey to the Still Point Wellness Spa

Written by Ron Parks, MD on September 1, 2023. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Integrative Therapies, Meditation/Mindfulness, Personal Growth, Spirituality & Health.

Cory’s searching and finding the way to wellness and well-being for himself and others.

Welcome to the Mind Wise podcast, presenting perspective and information about mental health, holistic health care, wellness, neuroscience, psychiatry, philosophy, and spirituality. I am your host, Ron Parks, M.P.H., M.D., writer, teacher, and consultant.

Today I continue to explore the life and journey of unique holistic healthcare enthusiasts and practitioners, their innovative services, and their tips on what they feel works best for themselves and others seeking better health and well-being. My guest today is Corey Costanzo, the co-owner and developer of the unique Still Point Wellness Spa in Asheville, North Carolina. But I’ll let Corey tell you who he is, and he will tell us a little about himself, how he got started on his journey, and how he ended up with one of the most beautifully designed and outstanding holistic spas in the country, Still Point Wellness. It is a place to see, experience, and a healthy destination here in Asheville, North Carolina.

Collage with 15 pictures on the theme of holistic health and wellness, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, Buddhist practices, enlightenment, and becoming aware.

Journey to enlightened healthcare

Written by Ron Parks, MD on August 5, 2023. Posted in Dyslexia, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mood, Personal Growth, PTSD, Spirituality & Health, Trauma.

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.

Collage of 6 pictures: the concentration camp and the captured, searching for meaning, peace, a solder with PTSD, and spiritual awakening.

Unraveling the Unfathomable: Capturing the Essence of Profound Experiences*

Written by Ron Parks, MD on July 29, 2023. Posted in Addiction, Anxiety & Panic, Commentary on Health and Well-being, Depression, Expert Mentor-Guide, holistic mental healthcare, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Integrative Therapies, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mood, neuroscience, Personal Growth, PTSD, Spirituality & Health, Uncategorized.

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.

Collage of 13 pictures with theme of writer's block, and return to creative production and flow; one picture reminds to listen to your inner voice.

Surmounting Writer’s Block

Written by Ron Parks, MD on June 10, 2023. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Creativity, Depression, Dreamwork, Expert Mentor-Guide, Getting Things Done, Happiness, holistic mental healthcare, Meditation/Mindfulness, Neurodiversity, Personal Growth, Spirituality & Health.

The critical steps to reignite inspired creativity, growth, and productivity.

Writer’s Block Strikes

I was returning from a vacation and felt guilty about not working on or beginning a new newsletter article. Every time I would sit down to start, I would find myself distracted and doing other things or just feeling tired or overwhelmed by the immensity of the task with all its components. Some basics of the task even felt too difficult, such as coming up with new material, doing the research, working through the succession of drafts, multiple edits, and the final publishing process.

A group of pictures depicting help from relationships, getting insight, feedback, and perspective.

Relationships for Growth and Perspective

Written by Ron Parks, MD on April 24, 2023. Posted in ADD/ADHD, Asperger Traits, Aspie, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Creativity, Depression, Dyslexia, Getting Things Done, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mood, Neurodiversity, Recovery, Relationships, Spirituality & Health, Unique Talent Attributes.

Awareness and receptiveness are essential for wise decisions, perspective, and adaptability.

My valued mentor and the confusing advice

A favorite mentor and advisor, at the end of our final meeting, on my way out from his cozy living room office, with the big glass window looking out on the yard, shaking hands with a big smile, told me, ” Here is my last clinical pearl; never give anyone advice.”

Four pictures of a person meditating in a beautiful ocean setting, a student absorbed in books, a ship on a mystical journey, and a sign of mind full or mindful?

Embracing the essential other for creative fulfillment and well-being

Written by Ron Parks, MD on March 2, 2023. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Meditation/Mindfulness, neuroscience, Non-duality, Personal Growth, Recovery, Spirituality & Health.

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.

Four pictures in a frame of two people caught in a storm and flood crisis are balanced by two images representing balance and composure after surviving the crisis. Pictures and composition done in Canva.

Wise actions when feeling overwhelmed or pushed to the limit

Written by Ron Parks, MD on January 18, 2023. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Depression, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Integrative Therapies, Meditation/Mindfulness, PTSD, Recovery, Spirituality & Health, Trauma.

Our life and future happen from the decisive choices and actions we take.

Two terrifying Incidences

To listen to Speechify recording version, click here

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.