I was supposed to go to my annual physical, which I usually schedule every couple of years, but I canceled it because, ugh, I hate doing it. Last time I went, the internist didn’t bother giving me a full exam. Just a quick check of the lungs and heart. No checking the ears, eyes, throat, lymph nodes, peripheral pulses, carotid arteries, the abdomen, extremities, neurologic system, etc. To me, as a physician, that’s unconscionable. I believe a very thorough history and physical can supplant all sorts of unnecessary tests. Healthcare providers have grown lazy. They have what I call the “Bic reflex” and use their pens to order tests to take the place of the job they’re supposed to do. It’s all about getting as many patients in and out to insure adequate revenue. I can understand their quagmire, however, because now more than ever, those providers must spend ridiculous amounts of time filling out forms, communicating with insurance companies and complying with burdensome regulations. Also, nuisance malpractice suits have caused an astronomical rise in malpractice insurance premiums and have caused providers to “CYA” by ordering unnecessary tests. Practicing medicine used to be so much simpler and so much more rewarding.
On a more uplifting note, at 1:00 AM, my youngest daughter, Annika, received an email from my alma mater (and also that of my mother), University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, offering her a prematch position in the 2017 class! She has more interviews lined up and wants to check out those medical schools first before she commits, but UTMB is her favorite. It has one of the highest Step One passing rates in the nation. The average GPA of the matriculating class is 3.90, and the curriculum is all problem-based, which I think is a good thing. UTMB was almost destroyed by Hurricane Ike, but the positive side of that is that it’s been completely rebuilt and revamped. Now, it’s state-of-the-art! Another positive attribute of UTMB is that it’s known to be very friendly and low key. The professors are so available that it only takes a knock on their door and a “Can I ask you a question about this case” for them to offer you a seat and a willing ear. Anyway, she has until March to let them know. Of course, I’m very proud of her for working so hard, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. The average acceptance rate for medical schools is just over 6% so this was no easy task for her.
Here are two “Best of Erik’s” that are very short. I’m giving you a BOGO (buy one get one) because I don’t want you to feel ripped off!
Mercury Retrograde
Me: Erik, can you tell me a little bit about Mercury being in retrograde, because it seems like it always is as far as I’m concerned!
Jamie and Erik laugh.
Me: Tell me about that.
(Pause)
Jamie: That’s a cool image. He shows me the image of Earth in space and every now and then this huge magnet like those horseshoe magnets—red with the silver tips—s pointed toward Earth, and the more dense, lower energies rise up—kind of like the core of the Earth, they rise up to where all of the people are interacting.
Erik: Yeah, and it just fucks ‘em up a little bit.
Me: Tell me about it!
Erik: And then when the Earth rotates a certain way, the magnet points in a opposite direction and the denser energies go back into Earth. It’s like an ebb and a flow—the moon to the ocean. Really it’s the best visual I know how to give on it. It just changes the density of energies, and people just act a little goofy, a little silly and just off.
Me: Um hm. But it’s a good demonstration of how we’re energetic beings, you know.
Erik: Yeah and it’s a good example for how sensitive people are starting to become even though they use it as a joke, “Ah, Mercury in retrograde. It’s in retrograde, that’s why this is happening.” They use it as a joke or an excuse when really they should be complementing themselves and going, “Fuck, look at that! I’m so sensitive that I can feel that it’s screwing me up!”
Me: And probably how the Earth’s energy affects us. You know, I mean it just shows you that everything is energy and one energetic body affects the other.
Erik: It’s Mother Earth’s menstrual cycle!
Me: Oh god, yes and we’re the tampons. Jesus!
Jamie giggles in agreement.
Me: Okay, that makes sense.
Fear vs. Intuition
Me: What the difference between fear and intuition? How do we know which one to dismiss and which one to heed as a warning? For instance, the blog member that posed this question booked a flight then started to get this worrying feeling. She added the numbers of the flight, and it came out to be nine which is the number for completion. She just doesn’t know when she’s thinking too much with fear and when it’s not intuition.
Erik: Okay, so the flight example, that was based on fear.
Me: Um hm. I guess it could have been a past life thing, you know?
Erik: Yeah, from like travel, period. It doesn’t have to be in an airplane.
Me: Yeah.
Erik: But the difference between fear and having an intuitive warning is that fear is paralyzing.
Me: Ah!
Erik: Fear makes you feel like there’s no other choice or no other option. Intuition doesn’t do this to you; it enlightens you into the situation. So it can still come as a, “Hey, don’t go on that flight. Something’s not right,” but it doesn’t make you panic or feel frozen. That’s an attribute of fear.
Jamie: Damn, Erik! Nice!
Me: Do you feel it in different areas, different chakras?
Erik: Fear usually goes throughout the body to attack the heart area, because it’s an emotional base, but intuition traditionally –general blanket—comes across more mentally. So the message would be, “It doesn’t feel right to get on that plane.”
Me: So you feel it more in your brain, your head?
Erik: Yeah. It’s trying to give you a message. It’s trying to say, “There’s a bigger picture here, and you don’t need to be involved in it. So, just go ahead and walk away.” Then you walk away and realize, “Oh, there was no coffee on that flight”, or “That flight went down” or whatever it was.”
Jamie: Oh my god, that was an “Airplane” reference! Do you know that movie? That comedy movie?
Me: Yeah, I loved that movie. Erik did, too.
Jamie: “We have bad news. There’s no coffee on the flight.”
Me: Yeah, and everyone on the plane freaks out!
Erik: So, intuitively you feel it in a different way—that you are more mobile and in control of the situation.
Me: Interesting. Very good explanation, Erik!
Jamie: Yeah, that, um, I have never—I’m complementing you, Erik. I haven’t heard it that way! Nice.
Erik (teasing): Oh, like you know everything, right?
Jamie (cutting her eyes at Erik): Oh, like YOU know everything? Back atcha.
Erik and I chuckle.
Me: Oh god, you two. What am I going to do with y’all?
Jamie (laughing really hard): We’re going to beat each other up one day!
Me: Hm. I don’t know who’s going to win that one. It’s kind of a toss up. Y’all are both pretty puny. I’m going to have to talk to my bookie to see what the odds are before I place my bet.
Erik and Jamie laugh.
Before you go, check out this endorsement for Erik’s wonderful book, My Life After Death. So proud of my boy. Get your copy now, and remember this book makes a great holiday gift! Remember it comes in all possible formats: Kindle, Nook, paperback, Audible and audio CD.
