In many cultures it is said that you die twice. First, when your body leaves this earthly plane. Second, when there is no one left that loves you to utter your name on their lips. On this day of the dead, many cultures have ceremonies to remember and honor their ancestors, visits to graveyards to …Read More
Author: Dr. Joel Ying, MD
Physician-Educator-Storyteller. Integrating the power of story into medicine, healing sessions, workshops, speaking and performance.
Double, double toil and trouble ~ Shakespeare
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the three witches predict the future with double meanings and duplicity. The clever predictions spur Macbeth towards heinous choices and into murderous actions. The famous incantation echoes, “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.” We know that no good can come from listening to the witches, but Macbeth’s ambition …Read More
Qigong for Balance ~ Mantak Chia
According to Mantak Chia, an internationally celebrated master of inner alchemy and Qigong, the key to good health, longevity, and even abundance, is balancing the positive and negative energies that exist both within us and in nature. Ideally, if we can achieve balance — internally and with the natural world — our body, our life, and all of our existence …Read More
Drinking water from a firehose
It’s 9am as I enter the back of the lecture hall. I glance towards my usual seat — left side, off center, four rows back. I pause at the top of the steps. My eyes adjust to the dim of the indoor lights against the dark industrial carpet. From the back of the lecture hall, …Read More
The Unknown Soldier ~ Billy Rose
The Unknown Soldier There’s a graveyard near the White HouseWhere the Unknown Soldier lies,And the flowers there are sprinkledWith the tears from mother’s eyes. I stood there not so long agoWith roses for the brave,And suddenly I heard a voiceSpeak from out the grave: “I am the Unknown Soldier,”The spirit voice began“And I think I …Read More
The Raven ~ Edgar Allen Poe
For the month of October, what is hiding behind the shadows? The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe … welcome to the darkness … full of sadness and grief … The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— …Read More
Storyline Online ~ Famous Actors Read Children’s Books
Reading aloud to children has been shown to improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading. Teachers use Storyline Online in their classrooms, and doctors and nurses play Storyline Online in children’s hospitals. The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television …Read More
“Cows don’t give milk.”
A father used to say to his children when they were young: “When you all reach the age of twelve, I will tell you the secret of life.” One day when the oldest turned twelve, he anxiously asked his father, “What is the secret of life?” “I will tell you,” replied the father, “but don’t …Read More
One, Two, Three! ~ Henry Cuyler Bunner
“One, Two, Three!” by Henry Cuyler Bunner It was an old, old, old, old lady,And a boy that was half past three;And the way that they played togetherWas beautiful to see. She couldn’t go running and jumping,And the boy, no more could he;For he was a thin little fellow,With a thin little twisted knee, They …Read More
My Brain and Heart Divorced ~ John Roedel
I was just introduced to the poetry of John Roedel, and you should meet him too. When words have rhythm, I call it good poetry. My mind is entertained. When words have the ring of profound truth, I call it beautiful! It is poetry of the heart. Something deeper is touched; something beyond the words. …Read More