My story
Who is Mike? Chaplain specializing in cardiovascular and end-of-life care. I also have experience in clinical research study design, preparation, data gathering, and reporting. I’m also a Certified Workplace Mindfulness Facilitator (CWMF) through Mindful Leader. I’ve been leading mindfulness sessions for two years priori to my retirement in December 2023. I’ve started doing mindfulness sessions again via Zoom with interested individuals in my new life chapter (learn more here, sign up here). I’m currently working on a Positive Psychology Certification from U Penn.
You can see some of my research interests in my curated Zotero academic library. The link has references to categorized and reviewed articles (>2,625).
Who is Mike as a person? Honestly, I suspect I’m a bit (or a lot) curmudgeonly. A chaplain student I worked with said he was initially put off by my - he said it kindlier - grumpiness (as I remember). He said he was really grateful for my interactions with him. I don’t think many people are as honest as he was. I can recall my exact place in the hallway when he told me this. I guess I wish that I didn’t come across that way. Anyway, if we happen to meet, please be patient. I assure you I only want the best.
Mike couldn’t recognize himself if he saw himself on the street. There’s a gognitive disorder called prosopagnosia or face blindness. Apparently, it’s distressing to some people. I’ve never been formally diagnosed with this condition. Apparently, about 2.5% of the population has some version of it. I mostly can remember other people’s faces. But, if I passed myself on the street, I wouldn’t know it was me. I know this because I met a nearly complete doppleganger once in my work as a chaplain. When I walked into a patient’s room, they were utterly freaked out.
It seems like you’ve seen a ghost. Did I do or say something wrong?
The husband pulled out a picture of their grandson. Take a look at this.
I looked.
Yes?
*He is a spitting image of you."
Nurses came in and looed at me, then at the picture. We looked nearly identical, just different in ages.
Anyway, that’s my face blindness story and I’m sticking with it.
Mostly, I’m interested in helping relieve suffering and marshaling the human spirit and consciousness to help with that. I’m a lifelong learner. Unlike many of my learning efforts in the past, I’m no longer trying so hard to learn what the Gatekeepers tell me to: I’m learning what I want to learn. If I can help you, please let me know.