Skip to main content

Lee Lipsenthal MD

Image
By
A truly great man left our world recently. Lee Lipsenthal was a medical pioneer and one of the warmest, loving people I have had the pleasure of knowing. I met him through my affiliation with the Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease. He was their medical director. He also was the President of the American Board of Holistic Medicine (ABHM) of which I am a member. He taught doctors how to find balance and happiness in their lives and careers (a noble and very challenging task). He exuded a warmth, love and kindness that is extremely rare in the medical world. He genuinely wanted to make medicine better and I strongly believe he did. He pioneered movements in patient care in the Ornish program (empowering patients through improving their daily lifestyles and addressing their emotional and spiritual lives) and promoted physician well-being during a time that this was just not valued by the modern medical world. These extremely challenging ventures were bold and strong but always done with a loving, kind heart which just was Lee.

In his dying days during his time with cancer, he wrote a great book which I highly recommend to everyone. Enjoy Every Sandwich is a great read about living, dying in peace, and is delivered in a style that is who Lee was: loving, caring, gentle and compassionate. The title is interesting given his years in the Ornish program which espouses a vegetarian diet. He obviously valued the other components of the program (exercise, yoga and meditation, and group support and connection) more than the rigid, dietary advice. He lived his life and preaches in his memoir the search for peace, contentment, love and connection. He clearly values these more than any kind of rigidity or rule for living. I could not agree more and appreciate his boldness and honesty in leaving this world with his true, heartfelt beliefs clearly delineated. We need this kind of authenticity and honesty. He was and is a hero in my mind and heart. I feel for his wife and kids and all that will miss him terribly but I also believe with all my heart that what he gave our world during his time on this planet was so rich and so real that I hope his memory will sustain them all while they are missing him so deeply. Thank you Lee for sharing your giant heart with me and our world.

Comments

Anonymous said…
A sweet and fitting tribute to a very special spirit. I too am honored to have been touched by his warm and loving kindness... B
February 27, 2012 at 11:49 AM
Cindy Lorenz said…
Dr.Kalina, This is beautifully-written and powerfully inspirational (as is your entire blog, by the way). I hope we as humans find more effective ways to sustain the memories and, especially, the sense of relevance of people like Dr. Lipsenthal: people who may not be THE one or two "BIG" names behind a movement, discovery, etc, but who were, arguably, just as passionate, influential, accomplished, and, yes, important! There have been so many powerful contributors to all fields, and who knows which of those slightly obscure, but no-less-extraordinary names might inspire one of today's young people to build on a great legacy.
Love what you stand for!
-Cindy Lorenz, Maryland
January 21, 2013 at 9:35 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Guest Post from Jenna Walters

By
Tai Chi for Health Tai Chi is a secret weapon in the battle against the physical and mental demands of life. It has been able to help improve health in individuals with illnesses ranging from peritoneal mesothelioma to migraines . Its quiet and slow movements bring a calm balance to the mind. It also brings strength and balance to the body. Tai Chi demands very little from its participants. The focus is on body awareness and deep breathing. Its stretching is soft and fluid and its movements are low-impact. Young, old, athletic, or the rehabilitating can all gain better health with Tai Chi. Studies have shown that Tai Chi improves physical health . Although the movements are slow and require no added weight, those that practice Tai Chi become stronger in both upper and lower body. There is also proof that flexibility and balance are improved. The fact that the gentleness of this exercise has such positive results makes it perfect for the unfit, the elderly and for those recovering f
Post a Comment
Read more

Evolutionary Book

By
I am in the midst of reading a truly great and novel book. Written by Philip Shepherd, New Self, New World  is a deep analysis and different perspective on what is wrong with today's world and why so many of us struggle to find peace and happiness. The book shares with the Pando Method the concept of "coming out of the head and into the body" (the other brain) as a means to see with greater clarity and awareness. We at Pando Health Groups are using our approach of what we call "Center Point Rest" as a conscious process of descending from the thinking mind to the low abdomen. This form of meditation, while brief, gives the individual the opportunity to stop the continuous flow of thoughts and "drop down" into the body and then rest in this quieter, very different space. We find it to be a powerful way to connect with oneself and our true nature as opposed to the ongoing "bombarding thoughts". It truly does change one's state and opens up
7 comments
Read more

Connecting to the World

By
This is a picture from the Eucalyptus Grove At UCSD -- my dogs' favorite walk. Upon our return from our adventure, I read this from Buddhist psychologist, Rick Hanson. I really resonate with this aspect of connection. Connecting is in 3 directions -- inside with oneself, with others and with the world. When we strengthen one direction, we simultaneously strengthen our general connection. This is guidance to connect more deeply with the world. What makes you feel connected? I'd like to know.   Are we really so separate? The Practice   Love the world. Why?   Your brain evolved in three stages (to simplify a complex process): Reptile - Brainstem, focused on AVOIDING harm Mammal - Limbic system, focused on APPROACHING rewards Primate - Cortex, focused on ATTACHING to "us" With a fun use (to me, at least) of animal themes, the first JOT in this series -  pet the lizard  - was about how to soothe the most ancient structures of the brain
6 comments
Read more