Turning Straw Into Gold

Illness through a Buddhist lens.

by Toni Bernhard, J.D.

For the Love of Cats and Dogs: Pictures and Quotes About Our Furry Friends

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language. —Martin Buber Read More

Why Can’t Medical Science Figure Out Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is several discrete illnesses. Until they’re isolated, we’re unlikely to find treatments or cures. I’m weary of reading about a CFS-diagnosed person and saying to my family: “I don’t know what she has, but it’s not what I have.” Every time I say this, it drives home just how far we are from finding out why we’re sick and how we might get better. Read More

What Is Karma and Why Should it Matter to Us?

Karma has become a controversial subject. Because I’ve written a book on chronic pain and illness, I hear from a lot of people who want to know why they’re struggling with their health when others are not. Many of them think their poor health is karmic retribution for some past bad action, and that they’ve become sick because they have to work off this “bad karma.” Read More

10 Quotations and Reflections on Loneliness

I get asked about loneliness a lot. When I wrote about it in "How to Be Sick," I admitted that it was the chapter I put off composing until I was done with the rest of the book. Learning to be alone without being lonely can be a challenge. It has been for me. So, I thought I’d see what others have said about loneliness. Read More

Sleep Hygiene for the Rest of Us

Not a week goes by that without an article on good sleep hygiene showing up during my Internet wanderings. I know the recommendations are good ones. It’s just that most of them don’t work for those of us who are living with chronic pain or illness. Actually, it’s more than the fact that they don’t work—they’re irrelevant to the life we must lead. Read More

Taming the Want Monster

How many times in your life have you smiled and shook your head in disbelief at how strongly you thought you had to have some material thing or some experience—that “if-I-don’t-get-it-I’ll-die” type of desire? Now you look back, and it’s just one more item on that list of “wants” that no longer has any hold over you. Read More

10 Things I Didn’t Know Before I Got Sick

When I saw people on television stranded in the heat and humidity on the cement freeway overpasses in New Orleans after the levees broke, I thought, "I would not survive in that situation." When I see pictures of Sudanese refugees walking days on end to find food and water, I think, "They would have had to leave me behind." It's sobering. Read More

Springtime Renewal: Ten Quotations to Inspire You

My thoughts have turned to spring, partly because my eyes are itching and partly because the trees up and down my block are in bloom. My friends in the Southern Hemisphere are coming to the end of summer, not winter, but I hope they’ll be inspired by these quotations and commentary anyway. Read More

The Perennial Question: Who Am I?

When I experience life from the place of understanding that clinging to an identity is just an attempt to freeze in time what is, in reality, part of the flow of the universe, I feel light and free. My favorite expression of this notion of no-fixed-self comes from the eco-philosopher, Joanna Macy: "I am a flow-through of matter, energy, and information." Read More

Finding the Health Information You Need on the Internet

The first dermatologist said, “When you get home, don’t look up this condition on the Web because you’ll get too much information and you’ll become confused and scared.” The second dermatologist said, “When you get home, look this condition up on the Web because you’ll want to learn everything you can about it.” Argh!! What’s a patient to do? Read More

Lovingkindness Practice

Gaetano Donizetti wrote an opera called L’Elisir d’Amore—the elixir of love. I think of lovingkindness meditation as an elixir for my heart. It’s a medicine that heals any irritation, anger, or negative judgments I may be feeling for myself or others. Read More

Don’t Miss! Oscar-Winning and Nominated Films Featuring People with Disabilities

"Coming Home" is the first movie that realistically portrays a romance between a person who is able-bodied and another who suffers from a devastating disability—realistic in that it doesn’t shy away from depicting the emotional and physical challenges they face. Read More

Who Comes Up With These Names? A Plea for Truth in Labeling of Medical Conditions

Labels matter. We quickly form judgments based on them. If we hear someone called lazy, the label “lazy person” attaches in our mind even though we may not have even met the person. The same is true for labels given to many medical conditions. Read More

Mindfulness Meditation: Why to Do It and How to Do It

The Buddhist nun Ayya Khema said that meditating is the best way to rest the mind: “We take the mind for granted. It thinks all day, dreams all night. It’s always busy and we expect it to just keep going. But the mind, being the finest tool in the universe, has to be treated like any other delicate tool. If it’s abused and not given rest, it won’t function as well.” Read More

Six Strategies for Coping with the Blues

Some mornings I wake up and there’s no denying it—I’ve got the blues. I may not even be by myself when the blues descend on me, but they always make me feel isolated. I've found that it’s good to have some “blues strategies” at the ready, because the blues are never polite enough to announce ahead of time that they plan to spend the day. Read More

In Defense of Facebook

I've seen a lot of articles about how Facebook is bad for my mental health—by helping other people look happy, it's making me sad. This is not my Facebook. My Facebook is filled with status updates that reflect the reality of people's day-to-day life: "pain unbearable today"; "sad because had to cancel plans with friends." Read More

New Year’s Resolutions the Buddha Might Have Made

In presenting these New Year's resolutions, I've taken the liberty of putting some of the Buddha's words into the first person and adjusting the language in a few places so the text reads as resolutions. The content is true to his discourses. Read More

Hanukkah and Christmas Overlapping: Hallelujah!

Hanukkah can start any time from late November to late December. I remember how special it was when one of the eight nights overlapped with Christmas—we’d light our Hanukkah candles as our Christmas tree glowed nearby... Read More

Over 50 Years in the Making: 10 Holiday Jokes!

It’s time for some holiday humor... Read More

Who Was the Buddha?

The name Buddha means “awakened one.” This is the story of how a young man became the Buddha. As with all ancient tales, we can’t know what is to be taken literally and what is to be taken metaphorically. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m inspired by his story either way. Read More

How to Ease the Pain of Isolation During the Holidays

It’s that time of year. The media is filled with stories about people traveling to be with loved-ones. Gift suggestions and yummy recipes abound. But for many people, the holidays are a difficult time of year... Read More

Head-Off Holiday Stress by Educating Loved-Ones About Your Health Limitations

Suffering from a chronic condition can be an ongoing crisis—for you and for those you’re close to. That crisis can come to a head during the holidays when people’s expectations of one another are high and when stress levels for everyone are likely to be off the charts for any number of reasons—health, financial, relationship-issues... Read More

Can’t Get No Satisfaction? The Buddha and Nietzsche Can Help

The latest celebrity Buddhist, Mick Jagger, can’t get it. Neither, it appears, can I. It seems that to be satisfied, I’d have to arrange my life and the world to conform totally to my liking—and then have them stay that way... Read More

Using the Body Scan to Help with Chronic Pain and Illness

Your body is so much more than just your pain or your illness. Making friends with this remarkable organism is emotionally calming and healing. It can release tension in your body which, in itself, can reduce symptoms. Read More

5 Techniques to Help with Physical Pain

In this piece, I want to focus on the physical sensation of pain, although the techniques I’ll describe can help with any physical discomfort (I know because I use them for my achy flu-like symptoms). Read More

Turning Disappointment Around

When we're caught up in painful thoughts and emotions, we have a choice. We can choose to feed them by going over and over our grievances: "This isn't fair." By repeatedly conjuring up images or thoughts that evoke envy and resentment, we, in effect, become an envious and resentful person. But we can make a different choice... Read More

Five Minutes of Mindfulness Magic

I once read that the most common movie line is, “Let’s get outta here.” That describes exactly how I felt a few weeks ago as I sat in the lounge chair in my backyard. I was suddenly overcome with restlessness. But I didn’t have the option to “get outta here.” Read More

The Challenges of Living with Invisible Pain or Illness

Even illnesses that are life-threatening, such as cancer and heart disease, can be invisible to others. I'm sure that most television viewers who saw Venus Williams—recently diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome—watching from the stands as her sister played in the U.S. Open tennis final, thought, "But she doesn't look sick." Read More

Humor as Medicine: 20 Quotations about Health

"Quit worrying about your health. It'll go away." —Robert Orben Read More

4 Tips for Slowing Down to Reduce Stress

NPR ran a story titled, “The Slow Internet Movement.” It reported that hipster cities like Portland are sprouting Internet cafés that only offer dial-up access to the web. These cafés give customers, “Slow pours and slow Internet. Here, you can order your coffee and spend four hours checking your email, all for .99 an hour.” “Wow,” I thought.” That’s just my speed!” Read More

Toni Bernhard, J.D., is a former law professor at University of California at Davis. She is the author of How to Be Sick.

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About Turning Straw Into Gold

Inspired by the Buddha's teaching, I explore the major theme of my book: living with grace, purpose, and joy in the midst of chronic pain and illness. In addition, because illness can serve as a metaphor for the difficulties everyone faces in life, I write about finding peace and contentment by engaging life fully, no matter what our circumstances.