CRNA at the VA

As a new anesthesia resident, my first two weeks in the OR were with direct supervision from the CRNA's at the VA. The attending was in charge for both of us, and the CRNA was in charge of showing me the ropes.

Those were special times. I learned a lot, by working together and talking. In my excitement I talked with Gina about my future, and shared how after being a doctor, I wanted to paint, go in nature, and write in my twilight years.

'I'm not going to make it to sixty.' Gina said, in a matter of fact tone, totally serious. I was taken aback.

'How can you say this? How do you know?' I asked, in surprise at how this beautiful nurse anesthetist, in the peak of her career, the prime of her life, could have anything wrong with her!

'Because everyone in my family gets cancer and dies an early death. I am going to die of cancer too.'

At once I was moved with pity, compassion, and empathy for her emotional toll of having an 'expiration date stamp' on her life. I encouraged her not to believe it, to take what  comes, and to live her life with joy as she had always been doing. Her vibrancy, her big blue eyes, and her smile were effervescent.

As an attending, I learned that Gina found a husband. And in her physical exam for her new life insurance policy, a lab abnormality came up. The follow up radiological study found cancer had invaded a large organ and spread to the bones.  She bravely continued to work while undergoing treatment. She started losing weight, missing more and more days, and went on disability. She passed, barely making it to fifty. Her internal 'story' was right.

Metaphysically, what is going on here? Gina is an example of a 'tribal belief'. In growing up, she must have heard countless times, 'we all die of cancer. we all die young.' and gone to a lot of funerals. Somehow it got into her belief system that she would succumb to the disease too.

A tribal belief is something that we get from growing up in an extended family. It is a motto, a creed. Imagine the mafia or the cabal, and the 'tribal beliefs' that must have been passed down to them.
Did they have a choice? Do you recall Michael Corleone and his questioning his fate?

The most important thing to know about tribal beliefs is to know that they exist, and to examine them.  You have a choice as to whether you wish to believe in them or not. Only you can decide what is right for you. Even if you grow up in a cancer family. For example, some families with a high risk of colon cancer have annual colonoscopies from a young age, to be proactive about it. They are not as accepting of their genetic risk as Gina's family. Everyone has a choice, a path to follow, something that is right for them. Sometimes there is pressure from the family to accept the tribal belief. Sometimes there is guilt. Both of these are not based on spirit and the heart. Free yourself from anything you have not consciously decided is the right belief for you.

This concept of tribal belief is from Christel Nani, RN, who worked in the ER in NY, and became a Medical Intuitive. She was a pioneer in the 1990's. I greatly admire her work.

Namaste,

Reiki Doc

Your Gift of Attention

This is an insight I got while watching Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve with friends. We were in the family room, and all eyes were glued to the screen. In New York, all eyes were focused on Lady Gaga. She is the most highly paid performer on the planet. Why? Because she captures our imagination. She commands it. With her talent, with her art, with her costs,es, and with her ability to define the times and capture the essence of What Is Now.

Lady Gaga has the ability to manifest for herself great accomplishments. She has put in the time and effort. without a doubt she is a smart businesses woman. Now let's look at this with Reiki Eyes.

New Year is a natural break, a time of the Janus, that mythical creature who is looking both forward and back. It is a time of great introspection,yes?

Where are our answers? Where are our solutions? They are within.

Each of us has the ability to create our own life.

Let me say that one more time: each of us has the ability to create our own life.
It flows from your thoughts. You think good thoughts, guess what? Good things happen! You think self-limiting thoughts? Guess what? Outcome suboptimal.

Before you start feeling guilty, it is hard to get past the family of origin without picking up some tribal beliefs. That is to say, the unwritten laws of the family. For example, my father thought 'poverty'. My mother did not. I was in between. But when I married, his family taught me 'you save and it builds up.' by the end of our marriage, on our meager grad student salaries, we had amassed over twenty-five thousand dollars! Just like that.

A good resource for working through such issues is www.christelnani.com . Christel worked on me once. Was a little too blunt for my taste. But as a former ER RN from New York, she has a lot to offer as she is psychic too. A natural healer. Check her out.

So here is what I saw right before midnight: I saw the creative forces of millions of people, including those in my own home, being dulled by alcohol and taken away by the Big Event and The Cool Happening. It is okay, if you know it while you are giving that power up for the moment. But I saw the conditioning of the people. The unknowing to their creative power. I saw people out of touch with themselves to the benefit of the media and the merchandisers.

Jenny Mc Carthy is astute. She had the cajones to say on international T.V., "if the Mayan calendar is correct, we better have a really good time tonight!" the only spiritual insight came from a Playboy centerfold model! And a comedienne. Comediennes usually don't let life escape them. lol.

Own your dreams. Cherish them. Go with the flow, and trust you have the ability to make them come true. And if you start thinking 'I don't deserve it' go talk to Christel. Tell them I sent you. ; )


Namaste,

Reiki Doc