Global Health Reflections

On  May 14^th and 15^th  the UW-Madison Global Health Institute and the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds engaged with the Dalai Lama and an interdisciplinary group of global thought leaders to explore the potential contributions of  mindfulness meditation to sustainable global health.

We hosted two incredible panel presentations at Madison’s Overture Center and both sold out –  for those who could not be there or follow the live webcast, you can view recordings and transcripts of both programs at Change your Mind Panels.

All the presentations spoke to me in different ways.  Here are some highlights:

Chade MinTang, Google’s leadership coach and “jolly good fellow,”  told me that devoting 10 seconds every hour to compassionate intentions would change my life. I am definitely going to try this!

Richie Davidson, famed UW researcher, presented his research which convinced me that 30 minutes of daily mindfulness practice could help me to reduce stress, reshape my mind, and make me more compassionate.

Richard Layard, the economist co-author of the  UN Happiness Report, counselled me not to measure my happiness by how much money I make – We need to find a more sensitive instrument than gross domestic product, and he thinks a meaningful happiness index is possible.

Don Berwick, pediatrician and healthcare quality expert, shared some unsettling truths about health care –despite the medical miracles that can cure cancer, the system is not operating efficiently or equitably, and the high costs are keeping us from making other important social investments.

Dan Goleman, author of the best-selling book Emotional Intelligence, focused on, well, focus.  If you are not present to the moment, it will be hard to be compassionate and act on what you believe.

Ilona Kickbush, global health policy expert, shared a holistic view of health and well-being, and urged us to work toward health through all sectors of society.  Her leadership on the panel was wonderful, but she correctly pointed out that one woman’s voice is not enough in discussions like this, and she reminded us that we will all need to have the courage to speak truth to power if compassion is to be the dominant ethos in our world.

Jonathan Patz,  UW climate change expert and Global Health Institute Director, illustrated the importance of holistic approaches to sustainable global health, with an example from Borneo, where a well-intentioned plan to prevent malaria by killing mosquitoes rippled through the chain of life in a village and caused all the roofs to cave in.  It would have been a wonderful fable if it were not a true story!

Mattieu Ricard, a Bhuddist Monk reputed to be “the happiest man in the world,” reminded us that training the mind is truly possible.  Mental discipline can help us to control the impulses, ruminations and cravings that lead to appetites that function like harmful addictions, where we experience wanting without enjoying.

Ariana Huffington pulled the themes together, reminding us that we live in a unique moment, and that these powerful ideas can really make a difference. She also encouraged the audience to explore GPS for the Soul, which allows people to monitor stress and address it with relaxation and mindfulness techniques though a cell phone.  See Ariana’s instructional video here:  http://huff.to/YXRlil.

But what about the Dalai Lama himself?  What was it like to be part of a conversation with him?  What did he say to me?

The Dalai Lama sat in a high back cushioned chair, wearing a Wisconsin cap, on the Overture Center stage before a crowd of thousands. It was like being in the presence of a wise, honorable grandfather.  He laughed at his own (clever) jokes and recited profoundly simple truths about compassion and peace.  He said we should all get together to save the planet.

The format dictated that the global scholars from  various fields would share their ideas for the Dalai Lama’s response.  He affirmed the wisdom of what they were saying, and encouraged them to go out into the world to tell others. He was expressing complicated ideas in his second language – which led to over-simplification at times.  In preparation for the event I had read speeches and teachings of the Dalai Lama (for a great collection by topic of interest see HHDL Teachings), so for me, his sometimes staccato statements evoked his written works and were meaningful.

By the time I took my seat for the second panel, which was intended to be a similar but not identical presentation for a second audience, things were pretty familiar. The Dalai Llama sat across from me on his chair, the audience was quieter somehow, and I was able to pretend we were in a living room together, engaged in conversation.  As time went on his comments were less like direct responses, and more like reflective holistic comments on how we might advance global health and well-being.  I leaned in, now we were getting somewhere!

He affirmed the role of science in changing the world, and made it clear that he espouses secular morality as the appropriate guide for global change.  Even though he is a religious leader, he relegates religion to the personal realm, and he feels that there is a common core of shared moral values that transcend particular religious or secular traditions. He wanted to be very sure that we understood that he was using secular in a way that was neutral to religion, and not anti-religion, and he also wanted us to know that he was including people who consider themselves atheists as members of this secular moral community.

He reminded us that the brain and mind are not one in the same!  He spoke of eye consciousness, of ear consciousness, of the power of full presence in physical labor  — planting a garden, washing a dish, singing a song  — these can all be sacred contemplative acts.  The mind should not be reduced to brain function. The way I heard it he was suggesting that there is still some mystery to human identity and will….

He insisted that it is very important to include the voice of the poor in the conversation about sustainable global health.  Environmental challenges and suffering due to poverty need to be addressed by all together, as one human community of 7 billion people. The architects of change must include the poor and vulnerable.  That is what he said.

He had mentioned education many times in the morning session, but in the afternoon he got to his point:  He feels strongly that education must go beyond imparting knowledge to cultivating morality.  He said, “the moral voice cannot be silent.”  And mindfulness practice and ethical training have important contributions to make to education.

Overall the events inspired me to rededicate myself to my contemplative practice as a Benedictine Oblate.  I would like to cultivate a more direct feed between the compassion and loving-kindness that I feel, and my actions. I look forward to continuing the “Change Your Mind” conversation, and I hope to discuss these ideas with more depth and rigor, and to include more voices.  To that end I would love to hear comments from others who were at the event or who have been part of the conversation through the transcripts or videos.

To continue this conversation or learn more about global health please visit my blog, Global Health Reflections at: https://globalhealthreflections.wordpress.com/about/

Lori DiPrete Brown

IT’S ABOUT COMPASSION AND IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN US!  

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 15, 9:30 am (CST) OR 2:00 pm (CST).   That’s the time to be still, take a deep breath…. and join in a conversation about compassion and mindfulness.  We’ll explore how these practices can help us to be more healthy and happy, to be more effective as leaders and public servants, to create healthy communities, and achieve sustainable global health for our earth. We’ll hear from UW-Madison scholars and global thought leaders who are exploring the policies and practices related to global health and happiness.   LIVE BROADCAST at the HF Deluca Forum in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (Free of Charge and Open to the Public).   LIVE WEBCAST  via www.cmcw2013.com.

Don Berwick, health policy and health care quality improvement expert, and Ilona Kickbush, known for her leadership in championing a “Health in all Policies” approach to health, will talk about how we can improve health care and employ broad governmental and whole of society strategies to support true well-being.  Richard Layard, economist and co-editor of the 2013 World Happiness Report, will provide economic perspectives on how happiness and well-being might be measured. The conversation also includes Dan Goleman author of Emotional Intelligence and ECO Literate, and Chade-Meng Tan, google’s official “jolly good fellow” who wrote, Search Inside Yourself .  These experts will talk about how mindfulness can enhance leadership skills and organizational performance. You will also get a chance to hear from Mattieu Ricard, reputed to be the happiest man on earth. Ariana Huffington will moderate the discussion, sharing her own perspectives and insights as well.

Mindfulness? Compassion?  You might be asking yourself if this stuff really works…. UW-Madison’s world renowned neuroscientist Richie Davidson, who directs the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, says yes, and he will be sharing the latest research on what sciences tells us about the relationship between mindfulness and well-being. Then Jonathan Patz, who leads the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, will make the link to climate change and human health, and discuss how we can take actions that positively impact both.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama will honor us with his presence for the event, and will share his reflections and reactions as the conversation unfolds.

I will be blogging and tweeting (ldipretebrown,  hashtag: #CMCW2013) during events on Monday and Tuesday, and I invite you to follow me and comment below.

…but it almost seemed like it as there was only one panel that lumped all these topics together.

Kristie Ebi provided a whirlwind review of climate change over the past 100,00 years — it was a great example of how to explain clearly really complex modeling processes and to show the conclusive evidence of human impact. The bottom line is that the rate of climate change is speeding up, and some ecosystems, like those at the top of mountain ranges have no where to go. The biggest impacts of climate change will be malnutrition, injury from extreme weather, and increases in diarrheal disease and malaria. Climate change works against all the MDGs and precise events are hard to predict because the impacts are site specific and path dependent…kinda like when you know a tornado is coming but you don’t know where to hide. (Note: hiding under your desk will not protect you from climate change).

Michael Brauer, a Madison native, gave a presentation about megacities and air pollution. He explained that tobacco kills 5 million/year, indoor air pollution kills 2 million, outdoor urban air pollution kills 1 million, and 2/3^rdof that mortality is in rapidly urbanizing Asia. There is no correlation between size of city and air pollution, rather the level of development is the best predictor of harm. Examples of good practices were Tokyo, NY and Bangkok, where regulations like roadside inspections, fuel improvements, and other changes have made a difference. Air pollution moves from Asia to California, US to Europe, Europe to Asia. Further, traditional risk factors modern risk factors move and change places, with some environments, like urban slums, bearing a double burden.

Jenna Davis talked about access to water as a success story of the MDG effort. While we are on track with MDG goals, 13% of people do not have access to clean water, defined as 20 liters per person per day, from a source, within 1 kilometer. Further, 40% of the human population does not have access to basic sanitation, that’s 2.7 billion people, with 1 billion practicing open defecation. Davis pointed out that health benefits related to water are linked to household taps–community taps are less effective, because safe water storage and regular use for hand washing are harder to accomplish in that setting. Linking things to climate change, Davis pointed out that increased run off and flooding and open defecation practices are a bad combination. While climate change is one driver, bigger drivers are urbanization, population control, and lifestyle changes.

Thomas Hinckley and Joshua Tewksbury talked about feeding 9 billion people in an uncertain world.

They reiterated the expected changes related to climate and pointed out that our food systems are predicated on stable climate. The global food supply depends on 3 species: maize, wheat and rice. The world food system is not working for many people …1/5 of population does not have food security. (Note: that means they are routinely hungry and probably sick and their human potential is seriously compromised). These 1 billion people tend to live in tropical or sub-tropical habitats, that will have larger declines in food production.

While there is progress in each of these areas according to the MDG reports, the facts about hunger and access to water, and the rate of environmental degradation stops you cold. In the presence of these realities I sometimes feel impatient with the academic approaches. I wish the speakers would stop saying food insecurity, burden of disease, and psychoocial distress, and say plainer words like, hunger, pain, suffering. And I am struck by how, in spite of the quality of these presentations, there was no place for the voices of the people who are most affected. While the public health practitioner in me understands the value of research and evidence-based approaches, I feel that leadership, social action and engagement are equally and perhaps more important in addressing these challenges. I know students feel this impulse toward action, and I take heart in the way they communicate, cross disciplines, and try to take on big problems one community at a time. As I left this session I overheard a frustrated conference goer who could not get in complain that students had taken up so many spots that there was not room for the conference participants. I, for one, was glad that the students got the front row.