February 2024 – tiffany nicole fletcher

Browse Month by February 2024

Contemplative Practice, Emotional Support, Facing Challenge, Grief, Healing, Mindfulness, Peace, Personal Growth, Resilience, Self-care, Spiritual Practice

Married to Amazement: The Gift of Curiosity

My friends tell me that I ask great questions. It’s no wonder that I became someone who asks questions as a healing practice.

The truth is I’m just endlessly curious. I love learning about people, about life, and especially about spiritual things. That’s probably why I read so much.

Recently, it occurred to me that I could intentionally use curiosity as an approach to problems and challenges.

So much of life is mystery, isn’t it? How do you face the mystery of life? The issues, questions, challenges? I don’t know about you, but the mysterious makes me curious, and curiosity is at least a much more interesting approach to the mystery of life than fear.

Curiosity used in this way might look like:

an openness of heart
an open-mindedness to the experience of life
a continuing acknowledgment of all that you don’t know; living from a place of humility
a willingness to be surprised by life
a willingness to be patient with yourself and with life’s complexity

Poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote,

Black Women's Health Updates

Black Women’s Health Update – February 16, 2024

I’m excited to share a new series of posts here – a regular listing of research, updates, and resources about Black women’s health and wellness. I’ll be including a selection of these updates in my monthly newsletter, so please sign up here if you’d like to receive these automatically in your inbox.

As a Black women who lives with chronic illness and who has had extensive involvement with the industrialized medical system in the U.S., I am well aware of the challenges Black women are facing when it comes to our health, as well as the systemic racism embedded in the very system that is supposed to provide care.

Not enough is shared about the state of Black women’s health – neither among Black women nor in broader societal conversations around health and wellness. It’s critical that we start lifting up the conditions affecting Black women, and moving toward better outcomes and improved lives.

Here’s the latest roundup of news:

‘I was terrified’: Black women may prefer Black OB-GYNs due to fear of discrimination, dying during pregnancy [NBC News]

A small study has indicated that pregnant Black women prefer seeing a Black obstetrician but may have a hard time finding one. The article also notes:

“Black women’s fear of dying during pregnancy and childbirth is a reflection of real-life risks. The maternal mortality rate of Black women in 2021 was 2.6 times higher than the rate of white women, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A 2022 report by the Pew Research Center also found that 71% of Black women ages 18 to 49 reported having at least one negative experience with health care providers in the past.”

Congressional leaders reintroduce bipartisan Protect Black Women and Girls Act [The Hill]

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has reintroduced a bill that would establish a task force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls in America – including racial disparities in health care, salary and education.

Contemplative Practice, Emotional Support, Event Recording, Facing Challenge, Mindfulness, Peace, Personal Growth, Resilience, Self-care, Sleep Support, Spiritual Practice, Trauma, Video, Wellness

VIDEO: Learn How to Calm the Anxious Mind (Event Recording)

There is so much going on in the world, both on a global level and in the nitty-gritty of our daily lives. It can be a challenge to find ways to manage the stress of it all and remember the light and resilience we carry within.

I’ve long known that mindfulness practice is a powerful way to promote calm and reduce the effects of stress, but I recently learned the fascinating and life-changing details of just how it can achieve this.

I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Dr. Kirk B i ngaman, Fordham University professor of mental health counseling and spiritual integration, at Trinity Church Wall Street about anxiety (both personal and collective) and how mindfulness practice can help us manage it by rewiring the brain over time – toward resilience, non-reactivity, steadiness, and positivity. We discussed mindfulness practice, neuroplasticity, and how we can access calm and peace in daily life. Dr. Bingaman gave a presentation on these topics before our chat.

Click the image below to view the event recording.

*Tiffany Nicole Fletcher and Dr. Kirk Bingaman in conversation at Trinity Church Wall Street*

Did you know that the innate orientation of our brains is anxiety and hypervigilance?

This ancient design served an evolutionary purpose, as a way to help our ancestors anticipate threats and survive in the face of mortal danger a long time ago. It has helped humans survive through the ages.

Most of us no longer face the threat of being killed by a tiger, yet we all still carry a brain that is constantly anticipating danger and pain. In his book, The Power of Neuroplasticity for Pastoral and Spiritual Care (which I highly recommend!), Dr. Bingaman shares about the ways that mindfulness practice can help us steer the brain toward the positive: