“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax If you are looking for a gift for a child, buy a book by Dr. Seuss! And even better, sit down this holiday season and read it to them. The poetic rhymes are …Read More
Author: Dr. Joel Ying, MD
Physician-Educator-Storyteller. Integrating the power of story into medicine, healing sessions, workshops, speaking and performance.
Keep healthy with immune support
Most vitamins and herbals are sold as “food supplements” to augment nutrition and promote wellness. The more recent term nutriceutical is a blend of the words nutrient and pharmaceutical. Nutriceuticals are also food derivatives, but sold for their medical properties to treat various problems. Often there are research studies supporting their use treating a target …Read More
Bowl of Light – Ancestral Wisdom of Hawaii
The ancient Hawaiians teach that we are all born with a Bowl of Light. That light inspires us and sustains us. As we grow in experience and wisdom of love, our light shines. But every time we lie, steal, or injure others, a stone gets placed in the bowl. This stone displaces the light. If …Read More
“The Box” by Dr. Joel Storyteller
To my Storytelling Fans! I discovered this memory in a storytelling workshop several years ago with Kim Weitkamp. She is masterful in teaching how to find your story ideas, and I love sharing her technique of memory mapping in workshops. In 2013, my audience was Toastmasters so the memory became a speech for a contest. …Read More
The Peppermint Pig
After the Christmas meal, the pink candy pig is passed around the dinner table with a bag and a nickel-plated hammer. Each person smashes off a piece of the pig, takes it out of the bag, and shares a story of good fortune from the past year in hopes of prosperity and good luck for …Read More
Black Elk Speaks: Vision of Unity
“… I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people …Read More
Six-Word Stories
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” ~ Ernest Hemingway Can you create a story in 6 words? Ernest Hemingway met the challenge with his famous six-word story. Stories can take many forms. Most are more than 6 words. Movies, television, commercials, oral storytelling performance, novels, short stories … What makes a story? The elements of …Read More
Poem: Wolf Path – Animal Medicine
Several years ago, my friend Jamie McCall was working with his “inner wolf.” He felt a calling to Wolf Medicine, as the Native Americans would call it. (For the Native Americans, “Medicine” is anything that heals the body, mind, or spirit. Read my prior blog post on Animal Medicine. Here, the spiritual medicine is wisdom.) …Read More
Grace Before Meals, Grace After Meals
“It would be infinitely lonely to live in a world without blessing. The word blessing evokes a sense of warmth and protection; it suggests that no life is alone or unreachable.”~John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings When everyday moments are held sacred, there is a stillness that brings a quality …Read More
Mary Gauthier: “Mercy Now”
“Every single one of us could use some mercy now.” Enjoy the beautiful lyrics of Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now”, invoking forgiveness, compassion, grace, and hope for each other … and for ourselves. My friend, Dave Roelant, brings this song into men’s prisons with the transformational work of the Mankind Project. (See recent interview with Dave …Read More