Anecdotal Evidence With Daniel Johnson, Md

In this episode I sift through the anthology of conversations and reflect on what I've learned from the podcast.  A special thank you to all of our guests; I'm filled with gratitude for this experience and I hope this provides a little inspiration for 2017 and beyond.  Well wishes and many blessings.  Daniel Johnson, MD

I'm super excited to send you a Christmas present from the Anecdotal Evidence.  This is my conversation with the local musician, Chris Wilhelm.   I sat down with Chris way back in February of this year for a conversation about music and the healing pathways into our being that it opens up.  It was special for me in that Chris and I share a lot in common.  We're both the oldest of three brothers, we have some common musical interests in Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and we both have relocated to Asheville to call home.  We get into all of that in some detail during the conversation.   In case you're not yet familiar with his music, I highly encourage you to check him out online at Chris Wilhelm music, and also with his recent excellent band, the Wilhelm Brothers.  The Wilhelm Brothers were a unique band consisting of Chris on vocals and guitar, and his friend (not brother) Kristof on cello and vocals.  I discovered them from a local show and fell in love with the songs right away.   As we were planning our podc

Thanks for checking out Anecdotal Evidence.   I'm very excieted to share this week's episode with my conversation with Dr. Angela Hind.  I had the good fortune of meeting Angela earlier this year after reading an article about fluoride in the local Mountain Xpress.  Fluoridating our water supply is a very controversial issue that stirs up charged debate.  It is an interesting issue to explore because there are strong opinions on either side of the argument.  It represents a polarizing issue that makes it difficult to foster intelligent discussion without devolving into fruitlessly angry rhetoric.  For an example of this, check out the 125 comments at the end of the above-referenced article.   And as the level of discourse in our country has taken an ugly turn from this year's election and from our increasingly isolated lives, it marks a symbolic issue to see if we can explore healthy discussion. Our response to this challenge reflects how we respond to the crises that face us as a society.  In our conversatio

Thanks for checking out Anecdotal Evidence.  I'm very excited to share this week's episode with Bhante UJotika Bhivamsa.  Bhante is a Buddhist monk who teaches meditation at Serenity Insight Meditation Center here in Asheville.  He is originally from Burma where he was raised in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.  He has dedicated his life to learning, practicing and teaching meditation.  It was a great privilege to get a chance to sit down with him for a conversation.   Here in the west we are just beginning to understand and value the meditative arts.  But to Buddhists, this has been the foundation of their approach to life for thousands of years.  This experience is passed on through Buddhist monasteries, where Bhante spent much of his formative years.  It requires total devotion and dedication to the practice to complete the training.  It is a great blessing that Bhante has joined our community to share what he has learned.  

Hello and Happy Labor Day! As we embark on another change in seasons, I hope you've enjoyed your summer and are looking forward to fall.   The last few episodes of the podcast have been dedicated to my experiences from Insight India 2016.  This trip was founded and led by Indu Arora.  We traveled to several cities in India to learn from great teachers of Ayurveda and Yoga, and to experience these disciplines still alive in modern practice.  As discussed in these last few episodes, the total experience was a challenge to my whole being - humbling, and yet rich with learning and discovery. For this episode I am honored to have had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation with Indu.  My partner Brooke first met Indu in her Ayurveda wellness program here in Asheville.  She was greatly inspired by her teachings and shared some of her lectures with me.  I found her teachings of the yogic philosophy of Samkhya to be very fresh to my ears.  This was interesting, but moreover I was inspired at how much the syste

Insight India 2016 pushed me out out my comfort zone and challenged me to open my mind.  It was an immersion in a distant country with different culture and customs.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to see this part of the world and to feel the impact of how an experience of a different culture changed me.  Part of how I felt that was the desire to share it through the podcast format.  Anecdotal Evidence has developed into an ongoing discussion about the phenomenon of our health as we experience it.   At the end of the trip I was exhausted and my mind was blown.  Brooke and I had 36 hours in New Delhi to recover before embarking on the 38-hour journey back home.  Unfortunately New Delhi has the worst air pollution in the world.  By the end of the trip the exposure had taken a toll as I was coughing and my clothes were permeated with the smell of burning coal and air toxins.  So we decided to bunker down at the Holiday Inn to ride out our time there.  It's actually an exceptional hotel, so we quic

For the next installment from the series on my recent trip to India, I'd like to share my personal experience with these emotions in Vrindavan. AE022 - 9 Emotions in Vrindavan Vrindavan is the ancient Indian city where it's said that the Hindu Lord Krishna spent his childhood days.  There are many temples dedicated to Krishna in Vrindavan and we had the opportunity to experience these temples as a place of living sacrament.  Devotees crowded into the temple to chant, read sacred texts and leave offerings to the male form Krishna, and the female form Radha.   In our Insight India 2016 trip we had the fortune to experience this city firsthand.  Our homework assignment during the trip was to reflect on our experience up to that point through the lens of examining our emotions according to the rasa classification system.  I found it to be a useful exercise for exploration and recorded a mini-episode that I'm sharing with you here.  The YouTube video for this episode includes the video segment of the recording

This is the first of two lectures given by Siddhartha Krishna to our Insight India group.  The lecture was given on March 19, 2016.  Here he introduces the ancient Indian philosophy of the Vedas, and what relevance it may have to all of us.  

The second lecture from Siddhartha Krishna given to the Insight India 2016 group.  This lecture was given on March 21, 2016 in Rishikesh, India.  Siddhartha elaborates on how technology affects the future of yoga and expounds on Vedic philosophy.  

Recording on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh, India March 22, 2016.  In this episode I shared what the first portion of our trip was like, and serves as an introduction to the whole experience of Insight India.  Specifically I share how our group was introduced to the intricate symbolism and meaning of Indian culture, and how learning of the Hindu mythology provides a framework for a deeper understanding of the science of yoga.  This was my jumping off point of the trip and I hope you enjoy it.

I spoke with Julyan Davis the Asheville painter about "Murder Ballads," his series of works bringing light to Southern tragedies.  He shares how his personal experience with family legacy has guided him in his journey from England across America.

In this episode I detail what I've learned from recent conversations with guests.  In particular I focus on the relationship of faith and healing and explore the value of the word, "participation."  Finally, in a sad note, I take a few moments to reflect on the life of Edgar Mitchell, one of my heroes and inspirations for the podcast.  He passed on February 4th, 2016 and will be dearly missed.  

Rob Wergin shares how he arrived in Asheville to practice his unique approach to the process of transformation.  He opens up frankly about the difficulties and struggles he faced that led him to discover deeper meanings to his own life.  It's a compelling story that points to the great mystery of our human condition, and I hope you enjoy what he shared.  

0:00    Intro7:00    Who's Invited to the Table11:03  Discovering we're unique17:36  Design and a Calling 23:39  Three Quarter Time29:20  Coming to Asheville36:38  Congregational Challenges42:52  Creating a Respite55:55.5  Growth and New challenges1:02:14  Outro  

Caroline shares with me how she was drawn to a career as a Presbyterian minister, and the continuing journey she has led her to Chinese medicine as well. She shares what she has learned from these very different disciplines - including how they may complement each other. 

Hello and thanks for checking out Anecdotal Evidence! Cricket Greer, MA, LPCA, LMBT has been involved with the healing arts for 26 years. She presently works in the fields of counseling and massage. In psychotherapy she draws most heavily from relational psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, humanistic, transpersonal, and somatic approaches. She works with couples and individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, self-harm, relationship issues, addiction, grief, and life transitions. In our conversation she shares how she draws from her life experiences and her diversity in training to her current practice. I really enjoyed talking to her and hope you enjoy our conversation!

"Cosmic Conversations" is a book of interviews conducted by the astronomer and physicist Stephan Martin. For this episode Dan and Stephabn have their own cosmic conversation about man's search for meaning and how it fits into our health journey. . Chapters:00:00:00 Intro 00:04:10 Stargazing in Florida 00:14:07 Elaborations on Allurement 00:21:44 Physics and Language as Limiters 00:31:10 Psi and the Placebo Effect 00:39:02 Science and Academia meet Spirituality 00:49:21 The Zero-Point Field and Continuous Creation 01:02:23 The Ongoing Wonder 01:13:00 Outro

Eddie LeShure is a senior teacher of mindfulness meditation in Asheville. And in today's episode he shares an incredible story of overcoming adversity in harrowing circumstances. Fortunately it's more than just an anecdote - it shaped his healing path. In today's episode Eddie tells the story of how he was in the Attica state prison in New York during the prison riot of 1971.  The experience was truly harrowing as 39 people were killed after the National Guard ended the riot by opening fire on the inmates and their hostages.  Although Eddie survived the experience, the trauma of it shaped his life for years to come.  He shares how he was able to heal through the immense alienation and suffering caused by being present for such a tragedy.  Furthermore, he takes us beyond the story and the anecdote of the event to the lessons he's learned from it and how he's grown.  A fascinating conversation, I hope you enjoy it.     Chapters:00:00:00 Intro 00:03:35 Dairy Farm Life 00:16:25 Hard Lessons 00:30:54 Higher Educat

Taking care of women is the passion of Saraswati Markus for over 20 years as a Chinese medicine gynecologist and Daoyogini. At Asheville’s Nourishing Life Center of Health, she describes the platform of healing as resonance with her students and patients. She explores the intersection where health meets consciousness.  We met for a conversation earlier this year in which she details what she's learned.   Chapters:00:00:11 Intro 00:05:16 Virginia Roots 00:17:45 Finding a Goldmine 00:24:49 Yoga is Yoga Therapy 00:34:44 Absorption Moments 00:42:43 Openings of the Heart 00:51:19 Sounds of My Own True Name 01:01:27 Emerging Happens 01:08:18 Women's Health 01:17:51 Outro

A recap of the beginning of the Anecdotal Evidence podcast, the purpose and origins of the idea, the first 8 episodes and a preview of what's to come.