By Irene Conlan -

Thursday on the radio show I interviewed a woman in Bath, England via Skype. How far we’ve come! I was in Scottsdale, Arizona, she was in England and the broadcasting company (VoiceAmerica) was in Phoenix.

It reminded me of the time in my childhood when we  lived in a small town in West Texas and had a crank telephone on a party line. Now that’s an experience in living! For those of you who have only had fancy cell phones or smart phones, a party line meant you shared the line with a number of other families and we could all listen in on each other’s conversations. If we wanted to call someone on the line, we simply cranked their ring – two longs and a short for example or a short, a long and a short – all kinds of combinations. If we wanted the operator because we needed someone not on our line or wanted to make a long distance call, we cranked the ring for the operator who had a switchboard in her home. If we were calling a  person in town and they didn’t answer, we could ask her if she knew where they were. Sometimes she did and sometimes she did not but it was always worth a try. Do I need to tell you that everyone in town knew everyone else’s business?

I remember a number of different phones as I was growing up. I loved this one because as a little girl I could wrap my small hand around it while I held the receiver to my ear. I felt big and important when I was allowed to use it. As a teen I had a baby blue princess phone in my own room – not my own line but my own phone. I was limited on the amount of time I could spend on it but I could hold private conversations about those things teen girls talk about – boys, boys, boys – without being heard by my parents.

I owned a business when I got my first cell phone. The phone was huge but allowed me to represent my company even if I wasn’t in my office. I thought that was the greatest invention and there was no place to go from there. But now we’ve come to smart phones that let you talk, play music , compete in games, take pictures, film videos and upload to YouTube or Facebook, find a restaurant in your area and dial a number at your voice command – plus more.

In terms of self improvement it is important to acknowledge that things change and people change. In relation to phones like many other things I think of the trite saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”While the phone has become feature-rich and much more complex to use it is still a means to communicate. We need to exchange information and the phone lets us do that whether it is by a land-line phone, a cell phone, or one of the Internet applications. We still need to talk, listen and be listened to.

People have changed as well. We seem to be more open to new ideas, more accepting of change, more accepting of differences but we still have a long way to go. There is no limit to how high we can go, how much we can discover, how “new and improved” can continue to become  even more “new and improved.”

We haven’t seen the end to how much phones can and most likely will change. And, as human beings, we have just scratched the surface of what we can learn and how much we can accomplish. It is up to us to see that future change includes greater understanding of ourselves and others and that we make progress in the things that truly matter and that contribute to the betterment of humanity.

Fasten your seat belt because it’s going to be a fun and wild ride.

By Irene Conlan -

Last week I had an appointment with a hematologist to review my lab results. It seems that I have developed a high level of iron that borders on “dangerous” and they wanted to know if I have blood disorder called  hemochromatosis  and if it’s genetic. Well, I don’t have it and I’m grateful for that, but it’s the visit to the doctor’s office that I found interesting – and in the long run quite amusing.

My appointment was made three weeks before as I completed my first visit there. I had my schedule book with me and not only entered the time and date of the next appointment but read it back to the scheduler to be sure I had it correct. I did. (sometimes I don’t so I’m extra cautious)

My appointment was for 11:45 a.m and I arrived a few minutes early and went to the receptionist to check in. “You don’t have an appointment today,” she said with a look and tone that asked, “How stupid can you be?” I told her I had scheduled it when I left my last appointment on September 6th and asked her what my appointment time and date was supposed to be. She saw that I had been there on September 6th but could not find an appointment scheduled at all. She acknowledged that the mistake was on their end and asked me to come back the next day – Thursday. “I can’t I said, “I have a radio show at that  time.” She rolled her eyes and asked me to wait. Coming back she told me to have a seat and that the doctor would see me while I was there. Remember, I just had to get lab results – no long  exam, etc.

The large waiting room was full so I took one of the two seats available and got out my book – I always travel with a book. A few minutes later a delivery person came in with an armload of bags of food from Chilis and the aroma filled the waiting room. They had her go back out and come in through a side door but by then everyone in the waiting room looked like they could grab a bag of food and run to the nearest place to scarf it down.

All of the employees disappeared except the  receptionist. The patients and family members in the waiting room grumbled. Some of them had been there well over an hour already.

An hour and a half later I was called to go to the exam room. And after ten or fifteen minutes the doctor came in. He called up my record on the computer and proceeded to tell me that I did not have hemochromatosis but that I still had a dangerous level of ferrite (iron) in my blood and we would initially treat it with diet. He emphasized the importance of diet, telling me that the person scheduling my next appointment would give me a copy of a diet and I must follow it strictly. “If it doesn’t come down,” he announced, “you will have to have a phlebotomy” and explained phlebotomy to me like I was in the first grade. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had a master’s degree in Nursing. No harm, no foul on that one, but I thought his explanation was funny. It took all of three minutes to get the news and be told to follow the strict diet that they were going to give me.

I was quickly back to the reception desk and in front of the woman who had botched the schedule the visit before. I whipped out my trusty schedule book thinking that perhaps I ought to get the new appointment witnessed and notarized. She gave me a date and time for the follow up appointment acting like I was interfering with her life. She handed me an appointment card but no diet. “Excuse me,” I said trying to get her attention again. “The doctor said you would give me a copy of a diet that I need to follow.” She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we’ve been asked for that before but we don’t have any.” “But he said I have to have it,” I replied. She got up saying she was going to go ask the nurses but she knew they didn’t have a copy of the diet I needed. She returned to tell me she was right – no copy of the diet. “I guess I could find one on the Internet” she said, obviously annoyed. I told her I could do that when I got home, and looking relieved, she told me she thought that was a good idea.

Coming home, I spent the next hour on the Internet looking for a diet that would lower the iron level in my blood. I found several but they were conflicting and I’m still unclear on precisely what I should and should not eat. I’ll give it my best shot. Monday I’ll call my cardiologist and my PCP to see if they have any advice.

So let’s recap. I spent a half an hour driving to get to an appointment that they hadn’t entered into the database. I waited over an hour and a half to see a doctor who took three minutes to tell me I needed to follow a diet they can’t give me. I was treated like I was an imposition on their day and my insurance had to pay big money for the visit.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Fortunately, I don’t have a medical emergency. But I DO need to take steps to reduce the iron level in my blood. I won’t get  the help I need from this doctor’s office even though he is a “renowned” physician.

Unfortunately for us all, this was not a unique experience. I’m sure you have your own story to tell. Do you think these kinds of experiences have anything to do with the fact that people are turning to alternative and complementary medicine?

I’m glad I had a book and my sense of humor along for the visit.

By Irene Conlan -

Today we remember . . .

But let’s remember the love, the goodness, the humor, the sweetness, the meaningful lives, the generosity – of those we lost on September 11th ten years ago.

If you understand the law attraction and manifesting and you grasp the concept of “like attracts like,” you know we’ve seen and heard enough of the horror of the event to recreate it again and again in the future. I don’t think that’s what anyone wants to do. I have a feeling that those who died that day would want you to remember them and what they meant to you rather than remember the terror of the day. None of us can forget that.

Put your thoughts on positive things and try to create in you the peace you would like to see on this planet. Over the past week the news media has generated enough fear to last us a lifetime and I encourage you not to dwell on it.

Think of our freedom, think of our potential, think of the beauty in this country – think of how you wish things to be.

I received a meditation this morning from the Chopra Center which, to me, is the best way to remember the events of this day and celebrate the loved ones we lost. It came with this message:

Dear Irene,

This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11. The Chopra Center would like to honor the many heroes who on that day gave their lives to save others. To all the rescue workers, volunteers, the New York City Fire Department, the passengers on Flight 93 who bravely fought their captors, and the countless unnamed people who offered love and comfort in the face of unspeakable violence – our gratitude is overwhelming. To all of those who lived and kept going after losing husbands, wives, children, parents, friends, co-workers, our hearts are filled with compassion. And to our military servicemen and women who continue to dedicate their lives to protecting and expanding freedom throughout the world, we offer our deepest thanks.

As we take time this weekend to consider what 9/11 has meant to us both individually and collectively, we invite you to also consider what you wish to see unfold in the next ten years. Chopra center co-founder, Dr. David Simon has created a beautiful intention-setting meditation that will help you connect with your heart and put your attention on what you’d like to see blossom in your life and on the planet.  As he has written, “The greatest contribution we can make to the wellbeing of those in our lives is to have peace in our own hearts. Our state of being broadcasts expansion or contraction to every sentient creature within our midst. When our hearts are filled with gratitude and our minds are brimming with enthusiasm, everyone we encounter leaves our space feeling a little bit lighter than when they entered it.”

I encourage you to go to their website and sit in meditation for a few minutes. Do it with your eyes open because the graphics are stunning. Simply click here.

Namaste’

By Irene Conlan -

In the week since I heard Congresswoman Maxine Waters say “the Tea Party can go straight to hell,” I’ve been upset. Yes, upset. The words keep rolling around in my head and I just have to say something. No, this isn’t going to be a diatribe either for or against the Tea Party. I try to keep politics out of this blog although it’s really hard to do that.(But I will say that when she finished her speech I wanted to go right out and join the Tea Party “just because.”)

Have we come to the point in this country that freedom of speech is no longer a right for all of us but now belongs to only a few ? Are we supposed to become a one party system and those of us who don’t agree are supposed to sit down and shut up? Are we supposed to behave like sheep or lemmings and just follow the leader right over the cliff?  I think not.

It seems to me that with the kind of trouble the economy is in we need all the help we can get – even if it might be from a group we don’t agree with. It doesn’t seem to me that those who’ve been making the decisions that affect all of us have been doing such a great job regardless of which side of the aisle they sit in.  I’m tired of watching them squabble and pout and then take their marbles and go home. They’re big boys and girls now.

It’s time to stop playing the “blame game.” It’s not ALL the fault of the Republicans and it isn’t ALL the fault of the Democrats. You can’t keep blaming everything on George Bush nor can you blame everything on President Obama. Stop blaming and start helping find solutions. Please! If you have a good idea send it to your  Senator or Congressman. Call, email, fax – whatever it takes.

Enough! Where are the statesmen and stateswomen? Do we have any?

Congresswoman Waters exercised her freedom of speech when she directed the Tea Party to go straight to Hell. She needs to allow the rest of us to enjoy the same freedom.

All views need to be heard – conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat, young and  old, men and women – ALL views! Then we need those who can make decisions to sit down and talk to each other and HEAR each other and come up with a plan that helps us  all – not jut a chosen few. Isn’t that what E Pluribus Unum means? From the many, one? Many people, one united country?

Congresswoman Waters, thanks for helping me wake up. It’s time I get more involved. Whether it’s as a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian or a member of the Tea Party is my decision. I could even start my  own group.  Will I go to straight to Hell for that?