The Gist

The pandemic has forced many of us to reflect on our lifestyles - both at home and at work. As several countries start to reopen, people are navigating social and work interactions. Employers are offering greater flexibility to work remotely at least some of the time, or even on a permanent basis. It is wonderful that we are thinking more carefully about where and how we work. But a recent Economi...

While almost all animals have unique ways of communicating, the development of complex, language-based communication sets humans apart. It allows us to express ourselves through speech and the written word. With inventions ranging from paper to computers and smartphones, the capacity and reach of human communication continues to grow. And yet it is as fraught with potential for misunderstanding an...

While going through the self check-out recently, I witnessed what is no doubt a frequent grocery store event - a spectacular, full-bodied toddler meltdown. The drama, the tears, the anger - an overreaction to something seemingly small, but very real and relevant to the child. How we respond to a distressed child has a direct impact on its behaviour. While our first instinct might be to lecture or...

Welcome back to the Gist. For the last several weeks we have been looking at how we can feel more integrated both within ourselves and with others. This week we examine how grateful living provides us with that much needed sense of integration. One of my favourite authors, Benedictine monk and scholar David Steindl-Rast, has made gratefulness his life's work. Having read and listened to so many di...

Welcome back to The Gist. Last week we looked at how psychiatrist Dr. Jud Brewer helps his patients create a sense of integration between body and mind to heal from addictions and anxiety. He is able to guide patients towards newer, healthier behaviours as they work to overcome engrained negative patterns. This week we examine the work of Dr. Dan Siegel who extends this idea further. Siegel is als...

Welcome back to The Gist. Recently we have been examining the writings of Jon Kabat-Zinn on the power of our senses and how they keep us grounded in the present moment. But it is easy for us to think of our senses, and in fact our whole body, as disconnected from our minds. Jon often refers to a funny quote from James Joyce's book the Dubliners where one of the characters Mr. Duffy is described as...

Welcome back to The Gist. Over the last several weeks, we have been exploring John Kabat-Zinn's book Coming to our Senses, with particular attention to one sense each week. When we put all of them together they form what John calls the bodyscape. The bodyscape forms our sensory experience which is ultimately interpreted into a message, maybe even a narrative in our minds - what John calls the mind...

Welcome back to The Gist. This week we look at touch, the last of the five senses. Some of our senses can be more easily impacted - we might lose our sight or hearing with age, we might get sick and not be able to smell or taste as well. But touch is the one sense that is very difficult to lose - almost everyone can either touch or be touched throughout their lives. In his book, Coming to Our Sens...

Welcome back to The Gist as we continue with John Kabat-Zinn's exploration of the senses. He talks about taste as fundamental to our survival. Outside of breathing, eating and drinking are essential to our existence. Our ancestors used a keenly developed sense of taste to forage for food. As humans discovered agriculture, the art and science of cooking grew over centuries into the incredible array...

We have been exploring our sensory world through John Kabat Zinn's book 'Coming to Our Senses'. This week we examine what John calls 'our most delicately attuned sense'. Remarkably our noses can detect even the faintest aroma with even as little as a few parts per trillion. Our sense of smell is of course largely dependent on our environment and the molecules that are carried by the air around us....

Welcome back to The Gist. This week we continue to look at the senses through the work of John Kabat-Zinn. Similar to the extraordinary gift of sight, John also describes hearing as having many layers. He examines the richness of our soundscape, all the many sounds that surround us every day. He brings to life a fall morning where he is sitting and simply trying to hear the sound of the rain outsi...

For the next several weeks, we are doing something a little different. We will be posting The Gist - a series of weekly blog posts also available in audio - which highlights ideas we are exploring through the work of various authors and speakers. We start with the work of John Kabat-Zinn to examine our senses and the ways in which they shape our experience of the world. We then examine the idea of...