Sit back, relax and listen to this insightful conversation between Dr. Neal Barnard and Dr. Kathryn Hayward.
Growing up in Fargo, North Dakota, he developed a particular world view which, at age 16, was forever influenced by living with a family in Belgium through an AFS Intercultural Program. He experienced life in a very different way. He notes that one important quality he came away with is humility, and that has guided his life ever since.
The roots of Neal’s work as President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, his music with his band Carbonworks, and his many accomplishments as a researcher, author, speaker, and teacher will touch your heart.
Carbonworks has published two albums, Carbonworks and Vanishing Act. You can experience some of their work, and Neal’s stories about composing the pieces, in our Behind the Music series.
I was realizing that my discussion of life as a “vanishing act” sounds pessimistic; I forgot to mention the most important thing, which is that, if life is indeed short, we can use this time to make the world better for those who need help along the way and those coming behind us, to the extent that we can. And that, to me, is very meaningful.
-Neal Barnard, MD
Neal describes Living Whole with Compassion as being able to live your life accomplishing the things that you wish to, caring for your family, and being able to do fulfilling work while being grounded as you do so. He emphasizes how important it is to have a sense of personal satisfaction, and how compassion contributes to your well being by involving yourself in the well being of something or someone outside of yourself.
How do we overcome our biological programming, set aside pride, and be of service?
-Neal Barnard, MD
The stories he shares in this conversation range from learning something important from a college friend’s workstudy job to an experience with a pigeon in London to why one of his bands before Carbonworks was called Verdun, to the dog lab in medical school.
When Neal talks about planting seeds for the future, he describes what he learned from researching Type II Diabetes and discovering that diabetes can be reversed through whole, plant-based eating.
Research opens us up to new ideas, surprising ideas, and when we plant seeds that open us up to something new, we profoundly affect how the future can evolve.
-Neal Barnard, MD