Catherine Nelson Ph.D. – BBSH / Pathwork

Being More Resilient and Proactive to Unwanted Changes

Catherine Nelson, Ph.D.
Mar – Apr 2022 • Vol 3, No 120

Here we are in the middle of winter. It’s a gray-sky day and there’s snow and ice on the ground. We are all hoping for a decline in the prevalence of the Covid virus. Some of us have been vaccinated and some have not.

“Immunity” is a frequent word in our conversations, as we talk about the health of our physical bodies. We all have antibodies that contribute to our immune system and protect our good health. Some antibodies occur naturally; some come from fighting off a specific infection or disease; and some antibodies can come from vaccinations.

One way we develop antibodies to various organisms begins with a gradual exposure in our environment from infancy through childhood into adult life. Most of us played outside as children. We played in the dirt; we had domestic animals around us; we were in constant contact to germs and bacteria of all kinds. We ate the cookie that fell on the ground. We wiped our nose on a muddy sleeve. All of those different kinds of germs and microorganisms helped to strengthen and expand the capacity of our immune systems to develop a larger repertoire for fighting new environmental agents

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To Self-Assess, to Reflect, and to Set New Intentions

Catherine Nelson, Ph.D.
Nov – Dec 2021 • Vol 3, No 118

We are coming to the end of 2021. Another year of our life on planet Earth is ending. This year has been challenging in many ways. There were the forest fires with the devastation of our beloved lands and wilderness. There were the heavy layers of smoke filling our skies day after day. There were the days of excessive heat in our summer season. There were and are the drought conditions creating a loss of crops for farmers and the inability of ranchers to feed their cattle. And then there was Covid and all the problems in our communities around vaccinations. Goodbye to 2021!

But what is coming in 2022? Will things get better or worse? Will there be more forest fires? Will we get the water we need for the crops, for the animals, for the wild lands, for the vitality of our soil, even water for us to drink? Will there be another Covid variant? What else could possibly happen?

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Even When You’re Certain!”

Catherine Nelson, Ph.D.
September – October 2021 • Vol 3, No 117

“What does that phrase mean?” asked Lena, as she heard Carol state it. Four women were all sitting at a restaurant table having a cup of coffee. Carol said, “Think about it; it’s happening all the time these days.” Marta spoke up and said, “I know what she means. Several friends of mine were going to come and visit me in September. We get together every year but couldn’t last year because of Covid. We each live in different states. We connected on Zoom in April to make our plans for September.

We decided they would come to my home in Bozeman and then drive to a national park in Canada for several days of hiking. We quickly made reservations for both lodging in Canada and for a local rental car, because we had heard it was going to be a busy summer with lots of tourists.

“Our only concern was about when Canada would open its borders to tourists. I felt certain they would open long before our scheduled visit,” said Marta. “Sure enough, they opened the border in August, but we had a problem. They would only accept tourists who were vaccinated and two of my friends were adamant that they would not get vaccinated.”

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Radio Interview of a Mother & Her Son with MS

Catherine Nelson, Ph.D.
March-April 2020 • Vol 3, No 109

One cold night in January, I was driving home and listening to the last part of a radio interview of a mother and her son. The mother has muscular dystrophy, which is a degenerative disease of the voluntary muscles that control movement in the body. She talked about making “choices” in life. She said that everything we do or don’t do is a “choice” and has a consequence.

This mother is in physical pain much of her day. She makes a conscious choice every morning to get up, to make a cup of coffee, and to go through her day in physical pain. She said she is very aware of each choice she makes. Her muscular dystrophy is slowly worsening, but she appreciates all the medical help and medications she receives.

Her eleven-year-old son, who was born with muscular dystrophy, was also interviewed. His health and ability to live is more precarious. He struggled to breathe and talk during the interview. He had two siblings who were also born with muscular dystrophy, and they had died. The doctors told his mother that he would not make it past one year. He did. They then predicted he would die by age two. He didn’t. The doctors are amazed he has made it to age eleven.

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Getting Back to Basic Core Values

Catherine Nelson, Ph.D.
January–February 2019 • Vol 3, No 102

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. In our culture it is customary to reflect on the past year and set some goals and priorities for the coming year. We are leaving a year that was filled with excess and inundation—political commercials spending excessive amounts of money. We are inundated with all the pressure to buy things over the holidays, with the emphasis on “things,” not relationships. We are bombarded with excessive amounts of information in the media, on our computers and cell phones. Endless kinds of entertainment are available day and night. Many of us are distracted, mesmerized, overwhelmed, even addicted, to looking at the little and big screens in our world of technology. More and more of us, adults and teenagers, look like cell-phone zombies as we walk down the street totally focused on their gadget. Some of these individuals trip and fall; some forget where they are; some get hit by cars!

It’s interesting to note that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were both very restrictive about the use of technology for their children and teens. There are recent reports from veterinarians that our domestic animals are suffering from depression because their owners are not paying attention to them. Another factor to examine is the high rate of suicide in the US, and especially in Montana.

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