General reflection
How privileged I am to be an Australian trained Physio, to be a Physio at all. Sometimes I take it for granted but reading through this journal helps me to remember where I have come from. All those things I thought to myself that I couldn't do, or would never do, I have ended up doing. It seems a surefire way for me to know that I will do something in the future is for me to make an offhand comment or passing thought "I could never do that!"
When I was in primary school, one of my cousins took us on a day out which included going to UWA where she was studying. I remember the horrendous toilets with graffiti all over the walls, the uni entrance with its conifer trees, the stairs of Reid library and her buying us a notebook for the book shop. No way would I be smart enough to study there I thought to myself! Well the architecture is quite imposing however that didn't stop me and I even got married in the UWA gardens :)
I also thought that I could never ride in a Bike for Bibles team, but that's another story.
Being a physio and attending an Ex Phys event helps me to be aware of how much more I do know now. Back then I thought that there possibly couldn't be that much more to know to be a physio. How wrong and right I was. It is nice to have the completeness of knowledge now. There was some nostalgia in visiting the uni and in seeing MH. And there was a pang of loneliness for me when he greeted someone else in his usual friendly way, knowing that he most likely has totally forgotten me but I not him as the impact he had on me professionally was greater. I do wish feelings and memories like this were two way streets.
A lady at work commented how everyone says that time goes quicker. She had been used to older people saying it speeds up as you get older but now she thinks that she is hearing more and more younger people saying it. Perhaps we are busier? Maybe the world is spinning quicker and quicker to its doom, that's my optimist theory!
I've also been reading about neuroplasticity and the like in "The Brain that Changes Itself". It's a pretty good read. Interesting how people a few centuries ago interpreted data differently based on their inherently religious worldview unlike today. For example a man lost his arm and then got phantom limb pains. He took this as being evidence for having a soul, extrapolating that if you amputated the entire body, he would still exist in a form. Today science has 'explained away' much of phantom limb pain (it's due to brain body schemas). I liked the first explanation better- it sounds more elegant! Another man argued that the imagination was from your soul, that your brain was a physical machine which required inhabiting by your invisible mind/soul. Now science sees that imagination is actually rather physical and that you can use mental practise to aid physical practise. So when Jesus said that if you imagine something in your heart it's as good as having done it this could be taken quite literally from the point of view of the effect these thoughts have on the brain.
Scientists also say that to change a habit or pattern you need to break the cycle but replace it with a new one over time so that the brain can rewire itself and weaken the previously existing neural pathways. This reminds me of the Scripture which talks about putting off the old self and putting on the new- it stands up to modern science! Also this fits in with sanctification being a process not a destination.
When I was in primary school, one of my cousins took us on a day out which included going to UWA where she was studying. I remember the horrendous toilets with graffiti all over the walls, the uni entrance with its conifer trees, the stairs of Reid library and her buying us a notebook for the book shop. No way would I be smart enough to study there I thought to myself! Well the architecture is quite imposing however that didn't stop me and I even got married in the UWA gardens :)
I also thought that I could never ride in a Bike for Bibles team, but that's another story.
Being a physio and attending an Ex Phys event helps me to be aware of how much more I do know now. Back then I thought that there possibly couldn't be that much more to know to be a physio. How wrong and right I was. It is nice to have the completeness of knowledge now. There was some nostalgia in visiting the uni and in seeing MH. And there was a pang of loneliness for me when he greeted someone else in his usual friendly way, knowing that he most likely has totally forgotten me but I not him as the impact he had on me professionally was greater. I do wish feelings and memories like this were two way streets.
A lady at work commented how everyone says that time goes quicker. She had been used to older people saying it speeds up as you get older but now she thinks that she is hearing more and more younger people saying it. Perhaps we are busier? Maybe the world is spinning quicker and quicker to its doom, that's my optimist theory!
I've also been reading about neuroplasticity and the like in "The Brain that Changes Itself". It's a pretty good read. Interesting how people a few centuries ago interpreted data differently based on their inherently religious worldview unlike today. For example a man lost his arm and then got phantom limb pains. He took this as being evidence for having a soul, extrapolating that if you amputated the entire body, he would still exist in a form. Today science has 'explained away' much of phantom limb pain (it's due to brain body schemas). I liked the first explanation better- it sounds more elegant! Another man argued that the imagination was from your soul, that your brain was a physical machine which required inhabiting by your invisible mind/soul. Now science sees that imagination is actually rather physical and that you can use mental practise to aid physical practise. So when Jesus said that if you imagine something in your heart it's as good as having done it this could be taken quite literally from the point of view of the effect these thoughts have on the brain.
Scientists also say that to change a habit or pattern you need to break the cycle but replace it with a new one over time so that the brain can rewire itself and weaken the previously existing neural pathways. This reminds me of the Scripture which talks about putting off the old self and putting on the new- it stands up to modern science! Also this fits in with sanctification being a process not a destination.