Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you well.
With a crazy percentage (and that link is to an article that only includes percentages of the leading causes of death; there are many other causes that we’d have to add in) of disease being caused by poor lifestyle (stress, overwork, too much or too little exercise, etc.) and poor diet (too much processed food, salt, sugar, eating on the go, etc.), the answers–the things that REALLY cure these diseases are not usually more, costly or different herbal formulas, drugs or remedies.
Because our lives are comprised of individual days, we can consider the foundation of health to be a healthy daily routine.
I am a fan of medicine that is as free, effective and accessible to everyone, as far as possible. I know this is not always possible: many, many people face great challenges when trying to practice implement even the basic tenets of health. There are people unable to afford whole foods; people that live in fear for their lives; people physically unable to exercise and people that live without choice over what they are exposed to in their environments. In such conditions, talking about even the basic tenets of health can ring hollow.
Even if it is logistically feasible for us to implement these five tenets, it can still be hard. We seem to need support and inspiration to do this. And it is difficult or impossible for some of us to pay someone else to supply this for us. Personal cheerleaders can cost a lot.
Eastern medicine teaches that energy follows focus: if we focus on something, we feed it energy, so feeding the Good–even looking for the Good, feeds it. To this end, we have developed a meeting to support the health of anybody that would like to join. Even if we can support very small, positive changes in any of these practices, to whatever degree we each are able, we hope that is a step in the right direction.
Good Company Meetings are free, live meetings we (either Dr. Welch or other trained facilitators) have been facilitating since 2018, barring unforeseen circumstances, on the first Monday of every month, at 4 pm New York Time (East Coast of the US). All are welcome. In the interest of maintaining confidentiality we never record the meetings, so they are only available at the live time.
We welcome and support each other and ourselves by sharing our own experiences and insights, without engaging in crosstalk. Anyone is welcome to share, provided there is time, yet sharing is not mandatory. While not always this way, please be prepared for a very slow-paced meeting, with lots of silence.
The tenets we focus on are ones that, in our experience, the widest numbers of health care practitioners we’ve consulted with from Western and Eastern medicine agree are fundamental to gaining and maintaining good health. We understand there are cases where there may be disagreement about one or more of the tenets. In those cases, we find it useful to communicate with your personal health care provider to determine what is best for you. If our discussion differs from advice from your health care provider, these meetings may not be a good resource for you.
The purpose of these meetings is to support health. We do this by providing, to the best of our abilities, a neutral, tolerant, consistent, confidential and supportive community to support the practice of basic tenets of health, which we understand to include these components of a daily routine:
Five Tenets of Health
- Nourishment: including healthy quantity and quality of nourishment from environment as well as from food, drink, our senses (that is, from smelling, tasting, seeing, feeling, and hearing)
- Living in integrity: that is, aligning our actions with the voice of our innermost essence, to the best of our abilities
- Stress management: including healthy quantity and quality of sleep and calmness of mind
- Activity: including exercise and rest at the right time, in the right quantity
- Minimizing harmful chemicals in our homes, offices and lives in general: for example, in our personal health care and cleaning products
More about each of these tenets, in the article, “The Five Tenets of Health”.
Here is a list of possible resources for support with concerns that these meetings are not able to directly address, including:
- emotional, physical, or sexual suffering
- eating disorders
- addictions to substances including–but not limited to–opioids, alcohol & cigarettes
Additional Support: There are many places to find information on a healthy, daily routine. Here is one:
eBook – Dinacaryā: Changing Lives Through Daily Living
When & How to Join
When: the first Monday of every month, at 4 pm Eastern Time (New York time).
How to join Good Company Meetings:
We use Zoom platform. Here is the link, ID and password you need to join the meeting:
Good Company Facilitator is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Good Company Facilitator’s Personal Meeting Room
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 967 109 3302
Passcode: 108108
One tap mobile
+19292056099,,9671093302#,,,,*108108# US (New York)
+13017158592,,9671093302#,,,,*108108# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 967 109 3302
Passcode: 108108
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbQlUHrbVg
To support confidentiality, these meetings are not recorded.
If you would like an Ayurveda health consultation with one of our tutors–who can do remote consultations, and who are also facilitators for the Good Company Meetings, you could contact either Ivy Ingram or Emily Glaser RN, BSN, who also offers Jyotiṣa consultations. We have a list of other Ayurveda practitioners too. Just contact us for that.
