Chronic Illness Q&A with Dr. B.

Larrry Berkelhammer, PhD., is the author of “In Your Own Hands,” 

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live a vibrant, meaningful life while living with chronic health challenges.

I post to this blog three times per week. Monday posts are mindfulness research articles, especially as they relate to health. Wednesday posts are videos of my presentations or interviews. Friday posts consist of Q&A related to living a meaningful, values-based life, regardless of the nature of your particular life challenges.

Here is this week’s question:

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Lately, your teaching has shifted from doing PowerPoint lectures to teaching mind training practices. Why the big change?

ANSWER: Following what turned out to be my last PowerPoint presentation to a large audience at San Francisco State University, I came to the realization that I want to train people in mind training practices that can enable them to improve their lives. PowerPoint presentations can be entertaining, but I have now become convinced that lectures, regardless of how interesting they are, do not help people live with greater wellbeing. For that reason, my articles and classroom teaching are increasingly geared toward teaching things like mindfulness meditation, mindful walking, tai chi chuan, and mental imagery of various sorts.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about living a life of mastery or about the relationship between the mind and health or wellbeing?
Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box below. Your specific question may not appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one. People in my classes and presentations asked most of the questions appearing in this column.