Breath, Sleep, Happiness, Neuroscience & Stoicism

Too many things going on in life to keep up with this blog in the past couple of years  . . . which is a bummer as I still read many books, and increasingly *try* to keep up with too many podcasts!

It has been the case that fully half of my book-reading consumption has been in more clinical and thus, more "boring" contexts in the past few years.  While the books I've been reading that inform clinical therapy and practices to engage, for example, Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing theory and practices is important to me, it won't matter much to the average reader.

I realized I haven't posted anything in 2022 and had a prompt from a Graduate Student who asked me about good books to read . . . which serves as a prompt for me to "catch up" on this blog by perhaps reviewing some of the books I've read in the past couple of years.

So - here are a few recent good reads:

It's clear that the way we breath impacts our life.  It is obvious that breathing is something we do - unconsciously.  What is less obvious is the fact that we can shift our breathing and our breathing can shift our life. 

I've personally benefited from (nearly weekly) and value the very simple methods offered by Wim Hof both in his writings and in his books or interviews.  His simple 30 deep inhalations and 30 deep exhalations in a calm state (no other complexity, no timing, no pacing, just 30 deep breathes) has helped me find mid-day calm many times.  

Beyond Wim Hof, I recommend Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art Paperback by James Nestor as a great introduction to the science of breathing.  [ For more on the "philosophy" of breathing for mindfulness, of course, Thich Nhat Hanh.]

Shawn Achor has written several books on Positive Psychology and the Science of Happiness.  It's likely the case that I've reviewed other books by him elsewhere.  The stories in this book, along with some practical steps, are good - Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change   Among various issues in the book, I loved a simple practice he explains about gaining an "add-vantage" in life.  We simply "add" a new "vantage" point for looking at a problem.  In viewing a problem from a different perspective, we might be able to see it anew and find a fresh solution or perspective.  Adding a vantage point gives us an advantage on the problem. Great!

Sleep is super important.  Really. Very, critically important.  And our world's cultural patterns don't celebrate this or respect it.  Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker will give you perspective on the science of sleep and how to sleep more/better.

One of the more enjoyable reads I've had in the past year, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean.  Kean deftly weaves together narrative stories of of history alongside the development of neuroscientific studies.  I enjoyed the stories, as much as what I learned.  A book worth reading a 2nd time, for sure! 

Finally, I've been reading both *from* the Stoics and in the study of Stoicism quite a bit in the past year. Including podcasts and videos, it's probably the case that I should call the latter half of 2021 as my "deep dive" into Stoicism.  I've read at least eight books by Ryan Holiday and he is an "evangelist" for Stoicism, indeed.  A couple of minor bits.  I have been shaped by Ryan and his presentations and that is super.  I wish he had someone else read his audiobooks, as I find his pacing to be a bit off.  His short videos on youtube in many ways are *really* great.  I especially love that he has clear descriptions in his videos where a person can "click" to the minute mark of each point.  Very nice.  One thing I don't like (or at least don't like "right now" with him is that he has about 10-20 key points from Stoicism, and every.single.video/teaching comes back to these few points.  In some ways, that is *the* point, I suppose, though I do feel a sense that once you get him, you've got him.  

To all . . . wishing you a life of peace and flourishing!

Peace and Flourishing

Working to get all things established for Private Practice out of Oregon  - with ability to see clients in any U.S. State.

Quite a few things with Oregon State LLC we've established, (4U, LLC), taxable stuff, banking accounts, insurance, website(s) with domain based email.

Thus far:  

www.peaceandflourishing.com  ("up" though new pics and graphic/logo in process)

marty@peaceandflourishing.com

~ marty

Coming in 2022

A multi-state teletherapy practice with Marty Alan Michelson will exist.

Check back to this website on the 1st and 15th of each month for updates.

Temporary gmail until Business Design & Website is complete: confidentialconsultation@gmail.com 

~ marty

Progress

I feel like I have to be making progress on some task, and usually some tasks, everyday.

I'm not good at relaxing.

Late Summer and Fall 2020 involved quite a bit of re-orientation to new work as Clinical Mental Health Counselor.  From diagnosis to billing insurance for mental health assessments, there was much to engage.

October 2020 - I "moved" from Oklahoma to Oregon and have been serving as pastor to the Eugene, Oregon Fairfield Church of the Nazarene.  (Links to Sunday Sermons their youtube site here, toggle to November 2020 to January 2021 for what I shared.)

January 2021:  I passed the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) National Counselors Exam (NCE) and created a video to help others succeed in passing the NCE.

I've been hiking or skiing in the Oregon Cascades at least one day per week - or - one day per week at the Oregon Coast.  I love, love Oregon.  I've helped many persons in various issues personally or in projects in the past week - from chopping wood to serving the homeless.

Life's curious.  Even in "my happy place" in Oregon and with emerging professional achievements, I still don't feel like I accomplish enough most days.  And, there are many days where loneliness is clearly present in my existential awareness.

Alas. 

Life.

Meaningless, meaningless  . . . everything is meaningless.  

Most urgently, I miss my wife and her dog, Lulu (Punky-Diddle).  

SARS-CoV-2 and the way humans are freely offering their bodies as carriers for SARS-CoV-2 to mutate to infect more people, is distressing.  The last months of 2020 and first month of 2021 in American non-bi-partisian-ship and disruptions have been distressing.  

Meaningless, meaningless  . . . everything is meaningless.  

Trauma, Tornadoes and SARS-CoV-2

In my early 20s, I distinctly remember a conversation with another Graduate student about one aspect of his childhood.  While we lived in California, he narrated growing up in Oklahoma for a portion of his childhood, and as one of the few facts he cited, he shared the fear he had of the Tornado Sirens that would blast their warning.

Having grown up in Oregon, with no fears of any inevitable cataclysm, I remember thinking how sad it was to grow up afraid.

Ironically, as I would end up teaching in Oklahoma for over 20 years, each of our children would grow up with this same fear - the T.V. New Anchors are famous in Oklahoma - sadly, like local celebrities "We'll keep you informed" - as they tell people to "Take Shelter Now" as tornadoes approach.  It is genuinely scary for children.  I am certain it instills trauma in some.  And, for those who experience a tornado that ruptures homes, it disrupts everything and kills.

For my part, I never told my kids when Tornados were active - - except when they could see the obvious disruption in stark weather out the window.  I prepared the house and readied our items for Tornado precautions (basement, etc), - I stayed alert to the news and tracking, though I did my best to insure our children did not experience every storm event as a trauma/tornado event.  And, most threats of tornados did not produce a tornado, and even when tornados were "on the ground," they only impacted small areas/acreages of impact.  [Of course, where a tornados hits, even a few acres - it causes massive, immediate chaos.]

While I understand that people "need" to live in Oklahoma, and natural tragedies can come in many forms any place on every continent, I wish Trauma could be mitigated or avoided.

The current situation of SARS-CoV-2 seems, to me, to be a wide-scale, across every county and every State in America "tornado" of sorts.  I fear that *across* America the poor posture of "dealing with" SARS-CoV-2 and how it has been presented to children, now being forced back to school, only to be going home soon and/or to be facing rolling quarantines, is causing trauma to millions of children.  Granted, some things must be done to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2.  [ I have been for the successful New Zealand, sensible, calm, scientific, full-lock-down, engaged approach of the populace, myself!]  

I am certain not enough people are considering the long-term, life-long trauma for social factors and relationships and human development that is *right now* impacting children - and will shape them for their entire life's journey.

It makes me sad that adults, leaders, humans with maturity - have chosen to not be more wise, caring, sensible, and compassionate to all children and all living beings.