Full Transcript Introduction to Self-Care and Healing 0:00 If you don't trust yourself, I feel that that self-caring, self-love, self-trust is a first step. 0:08 You ask what's the first step for people to take. 0:12 And I think a first step is to understand that you are precious, that you are special, that you are unique in this world. 0:26 Now there's seven, eight billion people in this world. 0:30 But each one of us has the opportunity and the obligation to be present with ourselves, to be quiet so that whatever needs to bubble up can bubble up. 0:44 I happen to sleep very well and very soundly. 0:48 But then I get up, I have one cup of coffee, not two, not three, but one for the day. 0:54 My understanding of the science is that one cup of coffee can help you. 1:00 But if you want to or need to have multiple shots of espresso or multiple cups of coffee to keep you going, I suggest rest. 1:10 Take a nap. 1:12 Understand that it's okay to renew and rejuvenate yourself through just being present. 1:26 Welcome back to the Think Well, Age Well podcast. 1:29 Today's conversation is an invitation to remember something we often forget. 1:35 That healing is not something that is done to us, but something that can be awakened within us. 1:41 My guest today, Russ Jaffe, began his medical education in the conventional Western world. 1:47 His path quickly expanded beyond the textbooks and algorithmic protocols. 1:52 Through apprenticeships with comprehensive practitioners, healers, and deeply wise teachers, he was introduced to healing modalities that still live mostly 2:02 outside of academic medicine. 2:04 What Rust rediscovered through his journey is both radical and reassuring. 2:09 It's that each of us has the power to change our lives, our habits, and our future by choosing wisely and comprehensively around what we eat, 2:18 drink, think, and do. 2:20 His work centers on a simple but profound truth. 2:23 We can choose to thrive, not merely survive. 2:27 And that healing emerges when we honor our nature, our nurture, and ourselves intentionally and engage the whole of who we are, 2:37 our chemistry, our relationships, our history, and our spirit. 2:42 So this is a conversation about easing suffering, cultivating joy, and reclaiming our innate capacity to heal. 2:49 I am so glad you, dear listeners, are here for it. 2:52 And Russ, I am delighted to welcome you. 2:55 Thank you so much. 2:58 You began going down this conventional medical path, yet your journey took you to a much broader sort of perspective. 3:07 And I'm curious, what created that hard left turn?
Russ Jaffeu2019s Path Beyond Conventional Medicine 3:11 What experience or mentors most profoundly shifted how you understand healing? 3:16 But what inspired first, like what inspired that shift in your vision for your future? 3:24 Well, I did train in internal medicine. 3:26 Then I was fortunate enough to get a position at the National Institute of Health, NIH, and I am doubly board certified just for background. 3:36 But while I was at NIH, I met a Taoist priest named Queen Nuan Wu, who was seminally important in bringing acupuncture back to America. 3:48 We had a small but interesting group of people, including Patch Adams and others. 3:53 that I studied with him for seven years while I was at NIH. 4:01 And he began to open my eyes. 4:07 Then I moved on, and to keep it very short, I had 30 years with a Cambodian monk named Banti Dharmawara. 4:16 We've done a book about his remarkable life. 4:21 He lived to 110 and I planned to outlive him if possible. 4:27 And so yes, I've had an eclectic, unusual, but very rewarding life by following the opportunities presented to me. 4:42 And yes, It is beginning to become part of conventional or Western medicine, but slowly. 4:56 And I would consider myself now a natural physician, M and MD, PhD with a PhD in biochemistry for anyone who cares to know. 5:08 And I did some very seminal work on collagen and platelets many years ago, which started me thinking about the fact that we knew very little about the 5:23 nature of the healing human response. 5:27 And I wanted to pursue an understanding for myself and for others of what it meant to heal naturally. 5:38 what it meant to be effective for yourself and for those around you, for those you care about, for those you live and love. 5:49 And I've been fortunate to have all of that. 5:54 So that's an introduction. 5:56 Do you think, you know, when you mentioned heal naturally, do you think there's a path to healing unnaturally? 6:04 Oh, absolutely. 6:06 The conventional medical world has become a business. 6:09 You spend ever more, you get ever less value. 6:13 I have recently been involved with that conventional medical world and I am now convinced that it has very little to offer people like me and people like you. 6:25 And do you think that healing is achieved when you go down that path? 6:31 Yes, healing is a natural human capacity that is often inhibited by the conventional medical world, a world that relies upon, 6:43 and I am doubly board certified in lab medicine, but let me say that laboratory results are only one measure of a human being. 6:54 And if you are fully awake, if you are fully present, Like Eckhart Tolle, one of my many mentors, you will find opportunities to heal naturally. 7:11 So break that down for us. 7:13 What does that look like? 7:15 What does that look like for you personally, for the people around you, for patients or your family? 7:21 What does it mean to heal naturally? 7:26 Well, it means using nature, nurture, and wholeness. 7:31 We have in conventional Western medicine basically excluded nature, nurture, and wholeness. 7:39 And I find that a major deficit. 7:43 So if I try to embody it in a phrase, it would be to use nature, use nurture, use wholeness to find out who you really are. 7:56 Who are you on the inside and on the outside? 7:59 Who are you in regard to, as you said correctly, relationships and a life lived in spirit? 8:08 I have done my best over the last half century to recover from what I was trained to do, to make it available to those who are interested.
Healing Naturally Through Nature, Nurture, and Wholeness 8:23 Can you give us some concrete examples? 8:26 It's a little philosophical, and I think when someone hears nature, nurture, wholeness, everyone comes up with a different image in their mind. 8:36 I'm curious what the image is that you come up with. 8:40 Is there a particular payment or example? 8:43 Well, it starts with what you eat, drink, think, and do. 8:48 I have chosen in the last half century to eat simply and with whole foods. 8:55 We happen to have a permaculture biodynamic food forest in our front yard, and so from spring to fall I get to go outside in the evening, 9:05 pick some herbs or some vegetables that are ripe, and that becomes a major part of our eating, of our dinner. 9:14 I think people underestimate how important what you eat is. 9:19 And let me be specific. 9:20 I exclude all sweeteners, not just sugar. 9:24 I exclude all sweeteners because it turns out that they are harmful to your life and to your spirit. 9:34 They induce chronic disease. 9:39 And we can talk at length about chronic disease. 9:42 I have helped many people with diabetes beat diabetes by understanding in depth what I'm describing for the individual because it is very individual. 9:56 And I have meditated for half a century and I am still unlocking the keys to spirit, a life lived whole and in spirit. 10:11 And I am by nature an inquisitive person. 10:16 I want to understand something deeply so that I can share it with others. 10:26 You've been helping others recover and thrive for decades. 10:31 When you look back at your career, what has changed most about how you and how you support people in achieving health? 10:39 And then I'm also curious, is there anything that hasn't changed enough? 10:46 Well, sure, there are lots of part of me that have not yet fully emerged, but let me say that I start with deep listening. 10:58 I want people to tell me the story of what really has happened to them. 11:05 And very often this starts in silence. 11:10 because people have difficulty often understanding that I am really present to listen deeply to them. 11:22 But when they get that message, then the story of their life comes out. 11:28 The story of early childhood traumas. 11:31 And this goes back to infancy. 11:34 Very often, and I was part of this Dr. 11:38 Spock generation, People are told, let babies cry it out. 11:44 That raises the cortisol, that raises the understanding that the world is not safe. 11:52 So very often when I allow people to unpack their life story, what they have to say starts early in childhood and continues throughout their life. 12:09 The traumas, the need for self and forgiveness of ourselves and others is profound and helpful. 12:21 So again, as I've said a couple of times, I try to listen fully to what they have to say. 12:31 And often it takes a little bit of time for them to really believe that I am listening and caring and deeply concerned about their nature, 12:47 their nurture, their wholeness, which we've said before, but I'll say that several times during this conversation, because today the world is distracting. 13:02 There are many opportunities to live in technology, to live in distraction. 13:13 And I want people, as I have done my best to do, to discover quiet, the inner voice, My main mentor was a Cambodian Buddhist monk who lived with me for 30 13:29 years between the ages of 80 and 110. And I personally plan to outlive him if the good Lord lets me do that. 13:38 And what that means is to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 110 or more. 13:46 How do you do that? 13:47 What is the path to bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 110 and beyond? 13:55 Well, it's to allow the path to open up for you. 14:00 It's different for each individual. 14:02 What I do is encourage people to live their life fully with wide-eyed, double-eyed seeing of the nature of their being. 14:17 And very often people go through a phase where they're not really sure that I am listening, then they may actually have tears form in their eyes and their 14:34 quiet begins to unfold. 14:37 I think that meditation is important as a practice. 14:43 I did not learn meditation in medical school. 14:47 I did not learn it in my PhD in biochemistry. 14:52 But I came to learn that my life was not complete. 14:56 And therefore, I had to find the way to forgive, forgive myself, forgive my parents, forgive those who had traumatized me. 15:07 And I learned that they were doing it unintentionally. 15:12 It wasn't, I fortunately had a pretty average early life. 15:19 I was not really physically abused, but my parents had had terrible childhoods. 15:27 And I only learned that much, much later because they didn't want to talk about the traumas that they had survived and that they visited upon me and my siblings. 15:43 But I was very interested in what had happened, what was their story. 15:50 And fortunately, before they passed, I was able to learn much of their story. 15:57 And we laughed and cried together as part of that process. 16:05 Emotions are just indicators. 16:08 Emotions should not control your life. 16:12 Emotions should be used as an indication that something is bubbling up inside you to be understood, to be appreciated, to be resolved.
Listening Deeply, Childhood Trauma, and Forgiveness 16:30 Where do you want me to take this? 16:32 Because I can go in many directions. 16:34 I'm jotting down notes as you say these things because there's a bunch of themes I feel like we could pull on, these threads we could pull on. 16:42 You mentioned this attentive listening. 16:45 This has been a theme certainly in my clinical practice and in life in general, that attention, true attention with intention and with presence is I think 16:56 one of the highest forms of love. 16:59 And what it brings up for people, right, especially if they haven't experienced much of that, is all of these kind of questions around self-worth, 17:10 around being loved, being worthy of love, and it can feel unfamiliar for a lot of people. 17:18 And it also feels like a bit of a homecoming. 17:20 And I think that's where some of the emotion, right, the emotion comes from the tears that well up. 17:24 When someone is really heard, really seen, through presence, through presence and true listening. 17:31 And so I guess I feel like you could talk about that for a while and the power, the healing power of that love. 17:39 I think that's so important. 17:44 Do you accept yourself as a special child of divine love? 17:54 To be willing to accept that you deserve and can be engaged with, self-regard, self-care, and self-love. 18:09 It took me a long time. 18:11 I was a multiply accomplished professional before I realized that deeply I didn't feel complete. 18:22 I didn't feel loved. 18:25 And that's where meditation and mindfulness practice, I think, comes in. 18:31 And yes, it is critically important for the professional to be present, to be evocative of love, and to be loving in a heartfelt way. 18:48 I love the work I do. 18:50 I love the people I work with. 18:52 They are my intentional family. 18:55 They're not my biological family. 18:57 I have two wonderful adult children, but whether you do or don't have children, whether you do or don't have siblings, you can still unlock the keys to self-care, 19:13 to self-love. 19:16 And then you can be more helpful to others. 19:19 Yeah, I think the power of this, if maybe I can reflect back to you, because I think this is really profound, right, is when you have a provider, 19:28 a practitioner, whether it's a therapist or a medical doctor or naturopath or a coach or whoever it is, who reflects or who creates that container, 19:37 maybe more than anything, of love, of presence and attention and love, then it sets that example. 19:44 It basically gives you permission to step in. 19:46 It's an invitation to self-love because it's not about growing dependence on love from others and presence from others, but it's really about that path 19:56 towards self-acceptance and self-love. 19:59 Do I hear that? 20:01 Absolutely. 20:02 That is spot on. 20:04 There's a theme around forgiveness, and I see this. 20:07 Of course, I work with dementia patients. 20:08 I work with people who are older, who are typically over 65, many of them over 85. And I hear themes because I ask everyone about stress, 20:19 about their relationships, about their relationships with people, with money, with their work, their sense of purpose, meaning, 20:26 with their sense of home. 20:28 And one of the things that comes up over and over again is the blame they put on their parents. 20:34 And you mentioned forgiveness. 20:37 And this I think is a theme that many people miss, but it unlocks so much healing. 20:43 When we can forgive our parents for giving us the gift of life a little earlier in our lives, there is so much peace that can come with that. 20:53 this assumption of goodwill, that they were doing the best they could with what they had. 20:57 The best they could under the circumstances of their life and their life story. 21:04 It was very helpful when I convinced my parents to tell me their story. 21:14 to tell me what had happened to them in early and late childhood. 21:21 And then that unlocked the capacity in me to forgive them for my misunderstandings or understandings, because too many people are physically and emotionally traumatized. 21:41 I was emotionally bereft because my parents did not have the capacity because of the traumas in their early life to extend love to me. 21:56 And I think that is common to many, many people. 22:02 I am functioning as a 40-year-old, but I am currently 79 and I'm looking forward to my 80th birthday. 22:09 I'm a New Year's baby. 22:11 So as a child, I really didn't like birthdays, but now I have come to enjoy my intentional family that gathers with me to celebrate me. 22:25 I think it's important to be able to celebrate yourself and your life and your worthiness, as you said, so that you can feel the capacity to help yourself 22:42 and others in the journey of life. 22:47 You know, for me this is very personal, right? 22:50 I am certainly on this path and I think a lot of this I understand intellectually, right? 22:56 I can say it out loud and then life gets stressful, I'm lying in bed, I can't fall asleep and I've got all of these ruminating thoughts and I kind of go 23:06 back into these old patterns. 23:09 You mentioned meditation and mindfulness, and I'm kind of wondering if that's where you'll go with this. 23:15 But the question is, how do we move from intellectually accepting and understanding these concepts to embodying them? 23:26 Oh, that's so important. 23:29 We can study through books or through teachings or through process. 23:36 and intellectually in our brain, we understand. 23:42 But emotionally, we don't really understand. 23:47 We haven't felt truly accepted for the wonderful being that we are, because each person is very special to me, and I would like it to be for them. 24:01 So part of my work is to help people appreciate who they are, that they are worthy, that they mean something to themselves and maybe others. 24:18 Now I happen to have a very rich personal relationship life, but many older people for various reasons are bereft of relationship. 24:32 Now it can be with an animal, it can be with a person, it can be with anything that matters to you. 24:39 But it is so important to find and keep relationships that mean something in our lives. 24:50 And I'm so glad that you're willing to say, yes, we understand something at an intellectual level long before We understand it at a intimate, 25:04 meaningful, wholeness perspective. 25:09 For me, it took many years of meditation to discover that I could forgive, not forget, but forgive. 25:18 forgive my parents, forgive those who had been angry in my presence. 25:26 And I had internalized a lot of that. 25:31 And fortunately, I think in the last decade, I've been able to cast off those shackles that bind, that bind the mind, that bind the spirit,
Self-Love, Presence, and Trust 25:43 that bind the mind. 25:46 So I'm happy to get into details if you would like of specific examples. 25:52 I'm happy to take this conversation in any direction that you want. 25:56 Well, this is so rich. 25:57 I do think that if there's one practical, my experience personally and professionally is that everyone is on this path at some level. 26:06 Some people are just starting. 26:07 Some people are just being introduced to these sorts of concepts and other people have been grappling with this for decades. 26:13 And I'm curious if there was one step someone could take to embody forgiveness, like true forgiveness and self-love. 26:24 What would be the step that you would recommend they take? 26:29 Well, I think one of the first steps is to appreciate. 26:34 Appreciate that you have a life, a life given by your parents, a life that extends to who and how you live your life. 26:47 And I want people to appreciate that they are unique, that they are endowed with the capacity to live and love and be present themselves. 27:02 So what I try to do is reflect to them that I am here, that I am present, that I am still awakening and eager for them to awaken too. 27:19 And I find that very Enriching for me and for them, but challenging because very often people don't trust themselves. 27:34 They have not found the keys to presence of trust. 27:41 And if you don't trust yourself, I feel that that self-caring, self-love, self-trust is a first step. 27:54 You ask, what's the first step for people to take? 27:57 And I think a first step is to understand that you are precious, that you are special, that you are unique in this world. 28:11 Now there's seven, eight billion people in this world. 28:15 But each one of us has the opportunity and the obligation to be present with ourselves, to be quiet so that whatever needs to bubble up can bubble up. 28:33 I happen to sleep very well and very soundly. 28:37 But then I get up, I have one cup of coffee, not two, not three, but one for the day. 28:45 My understanding of the science, because I am fundamentally a scientist who is also a practitioner, is that one cup of coffee can help you. 28:56 But if you want to or need to have multiple shots of espresso or multiple cups of coffee to keep you going, I suggest rest, 29:07 take a nap, understand that it's okay to renew and rejuvenate yourself through just being present. 29:19 Very often when you start a meditative practice and anything is fine, I happen to have found my way through Buddhism, but I am a very traditional Jew. 29:31 I'm a very present person who accepts wherever people are and that's the place to begin. 29:40 So I don't feel the desire to convert people. 29:48 In fact, I think those who need to convert you to their way of thinking need to step back and preach less and practice more. 29:59 So I've had the good fortune to be mentored by remarkable, amazing people. 30:05 And where did they come from? 30:07 Just my willingness to show up. 30:12 One of the first things that I recommend to people and this is a practice that is a bit hard in the beginning, but it opens up many possibilities, 30:22 is just show up and be receptive to whatever in the day is available to you. 30:34 I could go on for a long time, but I would like to hear from you where you would like to take this conversation. 30:42 But I think that's such a, that is very tangible, right? 30:46 Like no matter what happens to you today, how can you be a little more open to the opportunities to people who are present and loving? 30:57 How can you evoke healing through whatever presents itself? 31:04 Yes, I think it's important to surround yourself, at least initially, with people who exemplify, who practice and live into those ways of being. 31:18 I was very fortunate to have mentors and bosses who encouraged me to be myself, encouraged me to do something that was meaningful to me and might be worthwhile 31:34 to the world. 31:35 And both have happened. 31:37 We can go into that if you want, but both have happened to me. 31:41 And I think as you indicated, it starts with being alive. 31:50 Be a little more alive each day. 31:53 Be a little more loving each day. 31:55 Loving of yourself and of others. 31:59 Be more present in your daily activities. 32:05 I am constantly meditating. 32:08 I'm even meditating as we're talking. 32:11 because you can have a meditative part of your being and then a verbal or conceptual or intellectual part of your being. 32:24 These are all parts of a whole person. 32:29 And I didn't start out being a whole person, but I have to the best of my abilities over the last decades, wanted to be each day a little bit more of myself. 32:45 You are a biochemist by training, and you emphasize that chemistry and relationships and personal history are all inseparable. 32:56 How do emotional patterns and life experiences show up in our biochemistry?
Emotions, Joy, and the Healing Power of Laughter 33:06 Well, let me start with the beginning. 33:11 You can do simple blood tests of your biochemistry. 33:17 And then you can understand what this indicates about your strengths or your needs. 33:24 I don't like to talk about weaknesses. 33:27 I am very eager to find out what people need and to meet their needs where they are willing to meet me and As a biochemist, 33:39 I am deeply interested both in the chemistry of a being, the chemistry of a person, as reflected through lab tests and other tests, 33:49 but I'm also very much interested in the subtler aspects of who people are, of how they feel, because very often, people have been conditioned to deny 34:06 their feelings. 34:09 And I want them to be engaged with their feelings, but not controlled by their feelings. 34:18 At one time, early in my life, I was ruled by my emotions. 34:24 And I had rapid advancement in professional qualities of my life but I knew there was something lacking. 34:35 I don't know why, but I did know there was something lacking. 34:39 And that's why I went out to be present, to find mentors, to find people in my world who are able to unlock for me the keys of the kingdom of life. 34:54 If you're religious, you will know that the kingdom of heaven is within. 35:02 That's a simple statement, but for me, it helped me understand who and what I am and can I therefore be more helpful, more living and loving to every person 35:18 that I meet. 35:20 Sometimes I like people, sometimes I don't. 35:23 I've met a number of our presidents of the United States, some of whom I liked and some of whom I didn't, but I was always loving towards each of them. 35:33 And some of them have actually reflected back to me, boy, you're a little different than most of the people I meet, because most of the people who meet 35:42 people of accomplishment want something from them. 35:46 I want to give something to them. 35:49 I want to help them be more of who they can become. 35:55 by nature, nurture, and wholeness. 35:57 You mentioned the importance of emotions and not being controlled by them, but, of course, we're all impacted each day. 36:06 You've spoken about joy and laughter as therapeutic tools. 36:11 Now, this is on that spectrum of emotion. 36:14 I'm curious what happens in the body, what happens in the nervous system when we laugh and we experience joy, and how can these be used as tools without 36:24 controlling us? 36:26 Well, in specific, if you're willing to laugh for five minutes every day, your cortisol stress hormone goes down, your acetylcholine beneficial neurotransmitter 36:40 goes up. 36:42 Patch Adams, he was famous for the movie Patch, which was a Robin Williams triumph of a movie. 36:49 But I knew the real Patch Adams because he studied acupuncture when I was interested and interested first in not believing that acupuncture could be real. 37:02 Because conventional medicine dismissed, at least at that time, that acupuncture was more than a placebo effect. 37:11 Now I think the placebo effect is the healing response. 37:16 So I don't dismiss the placebo effect. 37:19 I want to engage it as part of the discovery of who we are, of where we've been, and where we're going. 37:31 What brings you joy at this stage of life? 37:38 Well, I am very fortunate. 37:41 I enjoy just getting up in the morning. 37:44 I enjoy getting a shower to wet and rejuvenate me. 37:49 I enjoy having breakfast. 37:52 I enjoy every aspect of my life. 37:56 And I am very fortunate in that regard because I have been able to craft a life based on joy, based on doing what I love and loving what I do. 38:10 Being around the people that I love that are really my extended family. 38:16 I think relationship is one of the keys to joy of living. 38:20 There are many, but what else? 38:23 What are some of the others? 38:25 Well, doing something meaningful, meaningful moments. 38:32 I've had many meaningful moments and many people have reflected back to me, boy, you're a happy soul. 38:41 Well, I have a soul, we all do. 38:44 And yes, my soul rejuvenates with joy, joy of classical music. 38:52 My mother was a musician. 38:54 She had perfect pitch. 38:57 She was very interested in music, but not so interested in us, her children, because her early childhood had been full of traumas, 39:14 emotional and physical. 39:15 And when I listen to the story that people tell, very often, early in their life, there were emotional and physical traumas from which they still need 39:30 to recover. 39:32 And it's my obligation, my responsibility, my joy, to help them know that at least one person, me, is present for them to unpack those emotional or physical traumas. 39:53 I am very disappointed that so many people are physically as well as emotionally traumatized, because that imprints the entire nature of your life. 40:08 And people tell me that when we're able to transcend, to get over those traumas, to forgive in very deep and profound ways, 40:22 whatever it is that has traumatized us. 40:28 You radiate a deep joy of living and despite, you know, having gone through your traumas, as we all do, What do you think is the most important thing to cultivate? 40:45 Is it laughter? 40:45 Is it meditation? 40:47 When we get on this healing journey, is there something that stands out for most people that helps them cultivate more joy? 40:58 Well, I think it begins with self-acceptance. 41:03 If we're willing to know that we are worthy of healing, then our healing journey can begin. 41:13 And I think one of my greatest joys is allowing people to know that they can heal naturally, that they don't need someone outside.
Daily Practices for Thriving and Closing Reflections 41:27 Forgive me anyone who is a therapist who wants to heal other people, that's fine. 41:34 And I've had my share of therapy and it's been helpful. 41:39 But fundamentally, I feel that recovery really happens inside, not outside. 41:49 And yes, I'm glad you appreciate that I am a very joyful, happy, satisfied, contemplative, religious, spiritual person. 42:04 All of those are different aspects of me. 42:07 I think that each person can find their own path. 42:12 You don't have to follow my path. 42:15 In fact, I don't want you to follow my path. 42:17 It might be satisfying for a short time, but your personal path is available only to you. 42:26 And when you accept that that is possible, the path opens up in front of you. 42:33 As I said before, showing up is a very important part of healing. 42:39 Showing up means being willing to accept whatever is as the moment now. 42:49 I'm a confirmed nowist. 42:52 I'm a confirmed people who has benefited greatly from just showing up. 42:59 And I feel some of the most important mentors that have influenced and cultivated and helped my life were pleasantly surprised that I showed up. 43:14 Because too many people don't appreciate the value of being present and showing up. 43:22 So I'm so glad that we're having this conversation. 43:26 I hope that your listeners have been inspired. 43:30 that they have been motivated, that they have understood that healing begins within, with what you eat, drink, think, and do. 43:39 Those are places to begin. 43:42 Do you eat in a way that rejuvenates and helps you? 43:46 Do you allow yourself to eat wholeness? 43:52 In my world, it's very possible to live on whole foods mostly biodynamic, which is like super organic. 44:03 15 years ago, my dear son started a garden that is now mostly self-sustaining. 44:12 It's a permaculture biodynamic food forest. 44:17 We're very fortunate to have enough land. 44:20 It doesn't take much, but it does turn out that growing anything that you cultivate is very rewarding and satisfying. 44:32 You can do it with just a little pot and some herbs. 44:38 You can do it in small or large ways. 44:41 It doesn't matter the size. 44:44 It matters that you have cultivated something in your life that you care about. 44:54 And it will reciprocate. 44:56 It's magical, but it will care about you as well. 45:03 You remind me that one of my teachers, his definition of grace is trusting that whatever arises is a gift before it feels like it. 45:17 And you really exemplify that, right? 45:19 That these, we have our traumas, we have our struggles, life happens, and turning it into a gift, remembering that it is a gift, 45:29 is part of how we cultivate joy. 45:33 As we close today, Russ, I want to thank you for reminding us of something both simple and profound that's easy to forget. 45:41 Healing isn't about becoming someone new. 45:44 It's remembering and appreciating who we already are. 45:48 Our chemistry, our relationships, our lived experiences, these are not separate threads. 45:53 They're actually woven together in this beautiful story of our life and our health. 45:59 And when we honor nature, nurture ourselves with intention, and engage with the whole of who we are, healing is not only possible, 46:07 it's expected. 46:10 So I hope that for our listeners that this conversation resonated with you and you are considering it an invitation, an invitation to choose daily rituals 46:22 over potentially routines that haven't always served and curiosity over judgment and thriving over surviving. 46:30 There are these small daily choices in what we eat, drink, think, and do, as you've reminded us, that can gently reduce suffering and open the door for 46:39 a longer, healthier, and more joyful life. 46:42 Man, we have been given this amazing gift, right? 46:45 Every day that we wake up and the sun is shining. 46:47 Wow, we won the lottery to be here right now. 46:52 And remembering that, appreciating that each day is, I think, what you have so gracefully reminded us. 46:59 Thank you, Russ, for being here. 47:02 Well, so have you. 47:03 And thank you for the opportunity to share this with your listeners. 47:08 I love all of you, indirectly, but genuinely. 47:15 and let it be, as you have said, Heather, an opportunity to be more yourself. 47:23 Thank you so much. 47:25 Thank you. 47:26 Until next time, be well. 47:28 Thank you so much for listening to the Think Well, Age Well podcast. 47:33 If you enjoyed today's conversation, please take a moment to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone you care about. 47:41 It's one of the best ways to help others discover tools and inspiration for aging well. 47:48 To stay connected, get bonus resources and never miss an episode, head over to drheathersanderson.com and join my email list. 47:58 Until next time, keep thinking well and aging on purpose.
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