My Blog

Category: Health

  • Eleven Proven Techniques to Help You Become Depressed and Miserable

    I recently attended a workshop on reconciliation during which Episcopal priest and theologian Michael Battle introduced me to "Eleven Proven Techniques to Help You Become Depressed and Miserable" by Charles B. Beckert, Ph.D.  I commend them to you as part of your Lenten self-examination.

    1. Dwell on past mistakes and failures. This is most effective when you focus on things that cannot be changed.

    2. Set unrealistic expectations for yourself and others. Expect perfection TODAY. This way you can guarantee failure.

    3. Constantly compare yourself with others. To get the most out of this technique, compare your worst traits with their best.

    4. Avoid all involvement and responsibility. It would be unwise to try something new and risk success and satisfaction.

    5. Remain negative and problem oriented. Spend all the energy and effort you can criticizing and judging yourself and others. There are always faults to be found if you look long enough.

    6. Allow yourself and others to be controlled by people and circumstances. This way you can dislike yourself for being weak and others for controlling you.

    7. Internalize and personalize the problems of others. Believe that you are somehow to blame and should have the responsibility to make things right.

    8. Don’t forgive yourself for anything. You deserve to be unhappy. To really suffer,hold long and deep grudges against yourself as further proof of your unworthiness.

    9. Seek isolation and avoid contact with those who care about you. Be cautious and reject any help offered.

    10.Do everything you can to please others. Believe that your personal value depends on their acceptance of you. You might find that compromising your standards and values for someone else will help you feel even worse.

    11.Base your worth as a person on external things. View things as “How you look”(appearance), “What you can do” (performance), and “What you have”(possessions), as measures of your personal value. In other words, love yourself conditionally.

    NOTE: If you really want to be unhappy and miserable, do several of these at the same time. Remember, the more of these you can make a part of your life, the worse you will feel.

    If by chance you are not happy being depressed and miserable, turn each of these statements around and do just the opposite.  You could discover miracle.

  • In this day and age, is gluttony still a sin?

    Sarah Henning, the Features Editor for the Lawrence Journal-World, asked me to respond to a question for "Faith Forum," which is a weekly Saturday column in which two local religious figures share their views on a topic.  The topic for this week is "In this day and age, is gluttony still a sin?"  I suppose the question is related to the season of Lent.  Here is my response:


    If sin is seeking our own will instead of God’s will, thereby distorting our relationship with God, others, and creation itself, and gluttony is overconsumption of the gifts God provides, then in light of what we now know about the impacts of overconsumption, there is more reason than ever to consider gluttony a sin.

    The biblical revelation makes us conscious that we were intended to have a dynamic relationship with our Creator.  The privilege of stewardship is a vocation given to no other creature.  Caring for creation involves consideration for the needs of others.  When my overconsumption (gluttony) results in a shortage of the necessities of life for others whom God also created and loves, my relationship with God, other people, and creation is distorted.

    As much as 64% of the adult U.S. population is overweight.  One-third are obese. The chief causes are simple: eating more food than the body needs, drinking too much alcohol, and getting too little exercise.  The impact on healthcare alone is startling. Studies indicate that increases in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. accounts for 12% of the growth in health spending.

    Our appetites are enormous in a world where people are starving. The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed, and one-third is starving.  During the time you’ve been reading this, at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.

    This condition is a distortion of God’s vision. To live my life in a gluttonous way contributes to the perpetuation of the distortion.  So, yes, gluttony is still a sin.  Since I’m 20 lb. overweight, I’m among the sinners and need to repent. Better stewardship of the body God has given me expresses love for God and for my neighbor.

    Ron


    P.S. The following sources were helpful to me in preparing my response and I commend them to others who are exploring the relationship between gluttony, obesity, and world hunger.

    Obesity in America

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    An End to World Hunger: Hope for the Future

    World Health Organization: Millennium Development Goals

  • Gathering around the family table is good for us!

    Many of us have just spent some time gathered around the table with our
    families and close friends for a Thanksgiving feast.  This may be a
    teachable moment, when we can connect the dots that form a picture of
    family life and family identity.

    Families seem busier now than
    when I was a child.  It's easy to understand, particularly with more
    two-career households, more activities for children and youth, and
    significant shifts in cultural values.  When something has to give,
    family meals may fall by the wayside. And yet, family meals are not
    only a time for strengthening family ties and keeping track of your
    children's lives, they can actually lead to better physical and mental
    health for your children and for the entire family.

    Studies in
    recent years have concluded that family meals are a central feature in
    better nutrition, mental health, academic achievement, vocabulary,
    parenting, and family life in general.  Many of us can recall how we
    learned the story of our family and came to an understanding of our
    place in that family while sitting at the table with our families.

    Have
    you noticed that as the trend away from family dining has increased,
    worship patterns on Sundays have also changed?  I suspect the same
    factors that make it more difficult to gather the family around the
    dinner table also make it more difficult for Christians to gather
    around the Lord's Table.  I invite you to consider that the health and
    well-being of the Church is impacted by regular worship in ways that
    are similar to ways our families are impacted by regular family meals. 
    When God calls us together as to recall the family story and share in
    the family meal, we are nourished and formed as Christians.  We remember who and
    whose we are.

    Maybe the adage, "The Family That Prays Together
    Stays Together," is not so trite after all. I do understand that many
    people do not have good memories of family and home.  Many have not
    found the church family all that wonderful either.  However, there is
    universal hunger for a sense of belonging and identity that we might
    call "family feeling."  Those who have found surrogate families will
    tell you how much it means.  Those who have returned to their church
    families or found new ones will tell you how it has impacted their
    spiritual journey.

    Now is a good time to pause and reflect on
    the busyness of our lives and consider what valuable times with our
    families and our church family have been crowded out.  If we are too
    busy to gather around the table – at home or at church – maybe we are
    just too busy for our own good and the good of those whose lives are
    closely linked with ours.  At home and at church, we need that time
    together!

    Ron

  • Gratitude

    On June 12, my wife Gay had surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to remove a tumor (low-grade condrosarcoma) from the second rib on the right side of her sternum.  The surgery was successful.  Healthcare professionals, friends, colleagues, bishops, parishioners, and former parishioners all were at her side and mine before, during, and after the surgery.  Prayers, food, flowers, visits, and love abounded in the healing process.

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    Tuesday, July 15, Dr. Stephen Swisher, Gay's surgeon examined her and released her!  The tumor is gone, the margins are clear, there is no additional treatment, and her next follow up is six months away.  Our car was packed so we could leave directly for three weeks of vacation and visits to family and out of town friends.  As we travel, our hearts are glad and filled with gratitude for the team of people and the host of angels God provided to heal her and support me so I could help her.

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    Gay walked out of the hospital after her appointment on Tuesday with a special spring in her step and an beautiful outer glow from the light within.  She invites you to visit her site, http://gaypogue.typepad.com/ for her viewpoint on all of this.

    Ron+

  • Next Year is NOW!

    It is time to celebrate a milestone in the stewardship of my health and fitness.

    Image002_2Last year at the end of April, I weighed 225 pounds, my resting heart rate was 78, and on a good day I could walk three miles in an hour. My friend and colleague in Austin, The Rev. Merrill Wade, recommended a book to me entitled Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond. The authors are Chris Crowley, a retired lawyer in his 70’s, and Henry S. Lodge, a doctor of internal medicine in his 40’s. Actually, Merrill recommended it to me three times over a period of six months before I finally bought and read it.

    As a result of reading the book, I bought a heart rate monitor and started gradually increasing the intensity of my personal fitness program. I joined a gym, bought a bicycle, and got a new pair of better fitting athletic shoes.

    It is now “next year.” I’ve worn out the new athletic shoes and am in the process of wearing out the second pair. I now weigh 195 pounds, my resting heart rate is 72, and in today’s workout I covered five miles in an hour and had a fifteen minute workout at the gym. Several annoying minor physical problems have disappeared. I’ve dropped two coat sizes and two inches in the waist, making it necessary for me to retire most of my wardrobe. Not surprisingly, I find that I’m more relaxed and have more energy than I did a year ago.

    God gives us these amazing physical bodies to transport us around as we share with God in the ongoing process of creation and redemption. If we are good stewards of our health and fitness, as a rule our bodies will last longer and we’ll feel younger.

    Last October, I wrote a message recommending the book and the lifestyle change it promotes. In that message, I said, “If you are a man near or past the half century mark, please be a good steward of the body God gave you and read this book! If you are the spouse or mom of such a person, use your persuasive powers to get him to read it.” Consider this a reminder!

    Ron+

  • Millennium Development Goals


    The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight interrelated targets for the eradication of global poverty. More than 180 Countries, including the United States, have endorsed the MDGs and promised to direct resources toward their fulfillment.

    1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

    2. Achieve universal primary education

    3. Promote gender equality and empower women

    4. Reduce child Mortality

    5. Improve maternal health

    6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

    7. Ensure environmental sustainability

    8. Develop a global partnership for development
    The 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church adopted the Millennium Development Goals as a mission priority for the triennium. 

    Read about it by clicking http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_77150_ENG_HTM.htm

    Watch the video to see how the kids at All Saints’ Church, Highland Park, Los Angeles are doing their part!

  • Episcopal Church PSA’s Helps Fight AIDS

    Since the early ‘80s, I have been concerned about the response of the religious community to HIV/AIDS, in terms of caring for those whose lives are affected, advocacy for medical research, and preventative efforts.  I helped establish the Interfaith AIDS Coalition and Omega House, a hospice for indigent, terminally ill persons with AIDS, both in Houston.  In one parish, I recruited people to serve on AIDS care teams.  In another, I organized support groups for persons with AIDS, their friends, and families.  For three years I was privileged to chair the AIDS Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

    I do not believe HIV/AIDS is God’s punishment any more than I believe blindness was God’s punishment for the man whose sight Jesus restored as reported in the Gospel of John.  But I do believe the ongoing reality of this disease throughout the world presents an opportunity for the manifestation of God’s glory through our response.

    These three public service announcements, produced by a group of teens from Galveston’s St. Vincent’s Episcopal House, are a fresh example of one way the Church can heighten public awareness of the importance of the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS.


  • Younger Next Year

    Image002_2My friend, the Reverend Merrill Wade, rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Austin, recommended a book to me a year ago at the fall Clergy Conference.  He said, “Ron, it changed my life.”  He recommended it again at Diocesan Council in February and a third time at a gathering of clergy in Austin in May.  The third time was the charm for me.  I bought and read the book.  It changed my life, just as it changed my friend’s life.

    The book is entitled, “Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond.” The authors are Chris Crowley, a retired lawyer in his 70’s, and Henry S. Lodge, a doctor of internal medicine in his 40’s.  The book is a must read for men over 50 and men not over 50 who think someday that may happen to them.  There is a website and a women’s edition, which I might recommend if I were a woman and had read it.

    The book is filled with practical and useful information in plain English.  It tells us older guys about things that help us “turn back the clock,” such as lessons from evolutionary biology, the importance of exercise and diet, and the necessity of connecting with family and friends.  For example, it tells us how exercise tells the body to grow, while sitting too long tells the body to decay.

    I am eating better, exercising more, connecting more intentionally, and it is paying off.  I’ve lost 25 pounds and feel better than I have in years.

    If you are a man near or past the half century mark, please be a good steward of the body God gave you and read this book!  If you are the spouse or mom of such a person, use your persuasive powers to get him to read it.

    Ron+