Integrative Leadership Newsletter

Mindfulness Practice Notes #3

By Jeffrey Brantley, MD I was recently invited to lead a mindfulness meditation session for a small group in a lovely outdoor garden behind the home of our group's host and hostess. It was a beautiful day, and the group was mostly new to mindfulness, so I gave some brief instructions before releasing them to stroll mindfully through the garden for about thirty minutes on their own. In the instructions, I reminded them they already had all they needed. They had mindfulness ...

Using Integrative Leadership Skills to Establish a Program to Reduce the Likelihood of Chronic Pain Syndrome

By Patricia Dennis For my final project on the Leadership Program in Integrative Healthcare at Duke, I wanted to leverage the assets of my organization to build a transformative initiative by collaborating with others from across our enterprise for the benefit of our patients, members and community. HealthPartners is the largest consumer governed nonprofit health care organization in the nation - serving more than 1.5 million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. Our care system includes a multi-specialty group practice of ...

Developing the “Informed” of “Informed Mindfulness” One Step at a Time

By Michael C. Aquilino In a room filled with 1,000 people if I were to ask “what comes to mind when I say mindfulness?” most would say “an awareness” or “being aware.” Clearly, many know the “what” part of mindfulness. The challenge, as with most things, is in the “how” of mindfulness. Is it simply enough to say “an awareness” or “being aware” and therefore you are completely mindful at that point? Probably not. For a moment, ...

Mindfulness Practice Notes #2

By Jeffrey Brantley, MD There is a wisdom saying that points to the power of our thoughts and emotions to shape our perceptions and reactions in each moment. One version of the saying is: “Mind upholds the world.” Of course, this statement could mean many things, but it can be useful to reflect on it from the position of the present moment, resting in awareness and becoming mindful of your thoughts and emotions, and your personality’s ...

Leadership: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Ben Kligler, MD, MPH Over the past three years, I have had the opportunity to be part of the development and launch of the new Leadership Program in Integrative Healthcare at Duke University. Thinking through what Integrative Leadership means, both in theory and in practice—and how to effectively teach it—led me to re-examine my experience as an integrative healthcare leader over the past fifteen years. I wanted to share these reflections—the good, the bad and the ugly—in ...