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867 Zen Health (Archive)

Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:

Dr. Allan Hamilton is a highly regarded brain surgeon, a set of skills that requires incredible focus. He is also a renowned horse trainer. Dr. Hamilton tells us how learning to relate to horses bolsters our right-brain capacities for non-verbal communication, intuition and genuine emotional expression. The patience he has learned from a Zen approach to working with horses has helped him understand better how to help patients identify and face their fears. He also shares his experience working with sick children who show amazing strength and ingenuity when they are allowed to relate to horses.

An extended interview includes further insights on harnessing chi and the lessons of the Japanese horse-masters. On our Facebook page you can also see photographs of us working with Dr. Hamilton and his horse Pepper. We had an amazing opportunity to experience what Dr. Hamilton describes during this interview. It is nothing short of magical!

Guest: Allan J. Hamilton, MD, was chief of neurosurgery and chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, where he is currently professor of neurosurgery and clinical professor of radiation oncology and psychology. He is the executive director of the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center, which is aimed at reducing operating-room errors.

Dr. Hamilton’s widely acclaimed first book was The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Human Power of Hope. His latest book is Zen Mind, Zen Horse: The Science and Spirituality of Working with Horses. His website is www.allanhamilton.com

The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free for four weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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