Krysan Blog: Healing Words 8 - Mystery - Archives
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- Written by Marian Moore
KRYSAN
THE WELLBEING CONSULTANCY
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H E A L I N G W O R D S
(A 3-minute chat with Marian @ Krysan)
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
You are invited to log on to the KRYSAN BLOG each Friday or Saturday during the months of July and August for this latest series of Krysan Master Classes. The intention is to continue to explore the use of writing as a form of therapy and hopefully the caption HEALING WORDS and the Einstein quotation will prove rich in possibilities.
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Blog No. 8 - Friday, 28 August 2009
Heal the World. For reasons best known to myself, this will be the last in this series of blogs around the extra-ordinary healing power of ordinary things. But, what better place to end than with a brief exploration of Dr. Larry Dossey's views on mystery. Like Dr. Dossey (and most likely you), I am entirely on the side of mystery and believe completely and utterly in the profound and unfathomable mystery of life!
Mystery and Health.What better place to start than with some discussion around Mystery and Health where we are reminded that our hunger for the mysterious is more than idle curiosity. Mystery is vital to our physical, mental, and spiritual health. As someone now firmly 'an elder', I admit to having a vested interest in health (physical, mental and spiritual) and in any ways (big or small) of preventing Alzheimer's disease and the cognitive decline that often accompanies ageing. I am, therefore, rather taken with the expert view that,"The brain is more plastic than we thought [and] has the capacity to renew and regenerate ..." ALBERT, MThe Research.I'm also rather taken with Dr. Dossey's assertion that some of the factors that help preserve mental function into old age are extraordinarily simple. For example, in a study in Finland of 1,500 elderly people, those who were obese in middle age were twice as likely to develop dementia in old age than those who were of normal weight. We are told that in another study involving 13,000 women, those who ate vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts in middle age preserved more of their mental faculties as they entered their 70s, compared to women who ate fewer vegetables. And, as we all know, physical exercise and social involvement are also related to better cognitive function and this is whatever our age. The discovery that surprised most people, however, was that mental activities like reading books and problem solving, such as doing crossword puzzles and playing bingo, were also found to help prevent mental decline in old age.Thinking is Good: routine is bad!
Now for the arguments against 'routine'. My mother loved routines: she did the washing on Monday, the ironing on Tuesday, the bedrooms and windows on Wednesday, she baked on Thursday, and so on. But one day near Christmas 1985 tragedy struck and equally as tragically she found that routines are ruts. Leaving the predicament in which my poor mother found herself to one side, the ruts become deeper and deeper the longer we stay in them and getting out of them is very difficult indeed. What is more, routines are undoubtedly safe and their attraction is that they provide predictability, comfort and security. But, unfortunately, they don't require much brain power after children leave home and a long-time partner dies. The common saying, 'if you don't use it, you lose it', is not just idle chatter. As Dr. Dossey points out (again with all the authority of his calling as a medical doctor), "When we rupture routines we experience uncertainty, which - key step - permits a bit of mystery to seep into our life and we have to think." DOSSEY, p. 232
Mystery is Good, routine is bad!
This, then, is why mystery is good for the brain. Mystery places demands on it, and the brain - 'being more plastic than we thought' - responds accordingly. But, of course, routines as well as being ruts are also roadmaps. When they are abandoned, we run the risk of getting lost. But, if the preservation of our mental faculties is the result, it may be a risk worth taking. We might take comfort from the old saying, 'The only people who get anywhere interesting are the people who get lost'. Also comforting is that the abandonment of routines and roadmaps may lead to mistakes, but making mistakes (as any teacher will tell you) is a crucial step in learning. Think on this observation, "It was only by making mistakes that mankind blundered toward brains." To round up this part of our discussion, it would seem that in addition to eating our greens, exercising and keeping an eye on cholesterol and blood pressure, we should be asking ourselves, 'How is this novel going to end? What's forty-nine across? What will my painting, my poem, my card, my embroidery (or, in my case, my blog) be like when it's finished? Dr. Dossey comments that if these latter (thinking) activities are as valuable as the studies suggest,
"... there may be good reasons why elderly widows are chatting around bingo tables in the nation's retirement homes, while their deceased husbands, who weren't much interested in puzzles and games, aren't." DOSSEY, p. 233Courting Mystery.I, at least, will be very sad to leave Dr. Larry Dossey's musings behind. With him (and you), I have certainly courted mystery over the past two months in writing this series of blogs. Finally, take heed of this truth: it is when we have too little mystery in our lives, that a "mystery deficiency syndrome" develops. This 'mental ailment' is as real as any physical ailment. But, of course, it's not just through words and books and bingo that we thrive. One of the very best ways of preventing 'mystery deficiency syndrome' is to expose ourselves to wild places - the wilderness! I know, that most people of my generation were immersed in nature as children. Beyond the open fields that surrounded our housing estates were the forbidding stretches of bluebell woods and the labrynth of creeks and gullies that seemed never to end. How fortunate we were and how sad it is that courting mystery in the wilderness is not an everyday occurrence for most of our children today and this is for many readily-observable and well-documented reasons. Read a previous blog on 'dirt' for more Dossey(isms) on this subject and a few words about Green Gym's timely intervention in the North East of England where I live.Search for the Sacred.
Despite all, I am pretty sure that my grandchildren and yours will still grow up to climb mountains, fish in rivers, sail the seas, or simply go for a walk in the woods in search of the sacred, the sacred that we all search for at some time in our lives sooner or later. One day (if not already doing so) they too will go in search of the realms and dimensions 'wholly other' from ordinary daily experiences. Have faith. All is not lost. For instance, today boy scouts and girl guides the whole world over continue to taste the experience of the wilderness and this is surely why the scouting movement has endured for generations. I so enjoyed Dr. Dossey's description of a scout as, "Someone who goes ahead, peers into the mysteries, and is sometimes changed by what he has seen ..." DOSSEY, p. 237. So, let's be like a scout (or a guide) and never lose the capacity to wonder, to appreciate the sense of mystery and awe in life whatever our age; let's get quiet in contemplation, meditation, or a walk in the woods; let's create a space for mystery (and miracles) to enter.
Finally, I thank Dr. Larry Dossey for writing a book of such excellence which encourages us all to align ourselves with the wisdom of nature and allow true healing to take place. The title of his book, The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, now simply rolls off my tongue as I hope it does yours. In relation to miracles, maybe I'll come back to that topic some other time ... or maybe not ... who knows ... I leave you with just one more Dossey quote to consider, 'In order to be a realist you must believe in miracles'. DAVID BEN-GURION
And that's enough - for now. I will, of course, return to blog again - but not next week or even the week after - or maybe even the week after that. I thank you for joining me and, until we all meet again, here is that beautiful rose again. It comes as a gift for the many beautiful people who share my life - including you.
Krysan-mini-blogBUT, LET'S NOT DIE OF BOREDOM
Ways of annulling boredom and rekindling that sense of wonder and mystery mentioned above are limitless. I've hinted at contemplation and meditation and a walk in the woods. But how about taking up a hobby that silences the mind and introduces uncertainty: painting, making music, baking bread or - my husband's favourite - fly-fishing. We can also frequent art museums, attend concerts, or hang out with musicians and artists. Or, we can volunteer in a soup kitchen, grow a garden, or best of all to me, take up stargazing. Try something (anything!) that won't compute and that shatters routines, something (anything!) that is off the map of personal experience, something (anything!) strange, uncertain, mysterious. This might just save our skins. Let's not die of boredom.
Let's heal the world. Make it a better place.
Marian @ KrysanTURN UP THE SOUND AND CLICK ON THE LINK BELOWMichael Jackson - Heal The WorldREFERENCESDOSSEY, Larry, Dr. (2006), The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, Fourteen Natural Steps to Health and Happiness, New York, pub. Three Rivers PressHits: 2,774 @ 2017-05-20
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