BPC Moment - Episode 4...

My scripting has gotten a lot more minimalistic in the month we have been on the air... mainly because I am writing the script for the show the morning of... check my prior blog entry to compare.

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BPC Moment

Episode: 10-04

20 March 2010

1:00 PM Show Sponsor: Royal Threads Thrift Shop – located in the Butler Rehab Center on the beautiful grounds of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, Royal Threads is your local source for inexpensive clothes, shoes, purses, accessories, and jewelry. The Royal Threads Thrift Shop. Incredible items at incredibly affordable prices!

Theme: Spring!

Guest: Ms. Michelle xxxx – she was a RAM here for two years and has re-applied recently to be a RAM again. We will learn more today about this fascinating and accomplished woman who is both a recipient and provider of mental health services.

Monologue Bullet Points:

Pretty Woman came out 20 years ago on March 23, 1990 and made Julia Roberts a star

American Idol: Siobhan Magnus – 20 years old

Corey Haims, star of The Lost Boys (License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream), dies at 38 possibly related to prescription drug abuse.

Child Stars Doing Okay: Ron Howard (6), Jodie Foster (3), Rick Schroder (12), Drew Barrymore (7), Natalie Portman (11)

Peter Graves, star of Mission: Impossible, A&E Biography (Emmy winning host), and the Airplane movies died March 14 of a heart attack at age 83!

Casting for Captain America movie slated for a 2011 release – and Avengers movie for 2012! – I am voting for Channing Tatum

3D Movies (Alice in Wonderland, Hubble 3D) – 3D TV

1:10 PM Guest interview:

Grew up in Hamburg, NY and has a BS in Psychology, MS in Human Service Administration and is a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor. She was a counselor for 14 years and has worked as a program manager and a peer specialist as well as having been a RAM for two years.

She is being treated for Bipolar Disorder and an Anxiety Disorder

She’s married with three children in college, two of whom will be graduating this May!

She has written two books, “A Book of Hope” and “Clinical and Christian Trauma Therapy” as well as finding time to work out at the Wellness Center.

1. Tell us about these books you’ve written. (NOTE POETRY)

2. What projects are you currently working on? (BOOK: Michelle in a new shell)

3. I understand you are thinking about leaving the Buffalo area. Where are you going and what do you hope to find there?

4. What’s next for you? (Reapplied to RAMS and opening private counseling practice)

5. Do you plan on reconciling with your family?

1:25 PM Call-in Segment:

1:40 PM Creativity Segment:

Poetry selections by Michelle Wnek

1:45 PM Sign off Bullet Points:

Thank our guest and poet: Michelle xxxxxx

Co-host: Still looking. If you are interested on being on TV, send your name on a piece of paper to the BPC Moment via BPC Mail.

Name the Show Contest: We had one submission for a suggestion for a name change. So, here is your chance to vote. BPC Expressions or BPC Moment. Send your vote to our show via BPC Mail.

Feedback: We’d love to hear from you!

BPC Moment - completely live and kinda unscripted

Below you can find the script for the premiere episode of my coming television show. Any thoughts or comments would be most appreciated:

INT. STUDIO - DAY

A small room with a desk and a backdrop visible. A sign in the background says, “BPC Moment”

A chipper announcer declares off screen.

Announcer

Coming to you live from BPC’s Studio One.

It’s the BPC Moment, with your host, Dr. Bill Reynolds! Today’s show sponsor is 1547. 1547, where people meet and friendships happen. That’s 1547. Ask your Treatment Team for more information about… 1547. And, now, Dr. Reynolds!

A man in a suit and tie enters from screen-right. It seems that he may be riding a skateboard and jumps off once he is center screen. His demeanor fluctuates between jovial and deadpan serious.

Host

Thanks, ANN! Good afternoon and welcome to the BPC Moment! You know, it’s just great to be here… at this… moment (pauses and mugs to the camera). Isn’t that right, ANN?

Announcer

You are correct, sir!

Host

As a psychologist I think it is just great that all of you out there in TV land are taking some time out of your day to spend with me and my guests. We really have a great show in store for you! Our theme today is “partnerships” and our guests today are Ms. Jane Doe and Ms. Sarah Smith.

Announcer

Yes!

Host

(looks perplexed) Um… yeah. Anyway… Ms. Doe was once a patient at this hospital but now has been [short bio]. Ms. Smith has worked with Ms. Doe as a [short bio]. They have been a dynamic duo for recovery.

Announcer

Indeed, sir!

Host

(Grins and mugs) Hopefully they will stay and help take your calls later in the show. After that, we have a wonderful piece of art from Mr. John Q Public that we will be featuring toward the end of the hour. Don’t forget to submit your own art and maybe you could be on the show!

(Becomes serious) Now, without further ado, please welcome our first guest, Ms. Doe!

[GUEST 1 interview]

Host

(Nods seriously and then smiles) Truly inspiring. Now, let’s meet that person who you say has been so helpful, Ms. Smith!

[GUEST 2 interview]

Host

(Grins) Thank you both for coming on the show! I hope you will be able to stay to take some calls with me?

[GUESTS answer]

Host

(Nods seriously) Okay.

[If running fast, insert the following]

But before we take our first call, a word from one of our sponsors.

Camera pans screen left. Host gets up from desk and walks back into center screen.

Host

(Looking serious) Troubling thoughts? A lot of questions and no answers? Looking for someone to talk to? Look no further than your unit phone and call extension (BPC Moment line). Talk live to a psychologist. He’s waiting. Psychology. It’s more than just talk; it’s a piece of mind. [END INSERT]

Host

(Sitting at the desk) Okay, we are ready to take our first caller. The number is (BPC Moment). We only have one line so we will take callers one at a time. If you see me on the phone or hear a busy signal, DON’T stay on the line! Try again once it appears that I am not talking to someone.

Let’s take our first caller.

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello, you’re on BPC Moment! Let’s talk!

[CALL IN SEGMENT]

Host

(Grins) Thanks for all of your calls! Those were some great questions! Now it is time to hear an original poem by John Q. Public.

[If running fast, insert the following]

But before we enjoy his poem, a word from one of our sponsors.

Camera pans screen left. Host gets up from desk and walks back into center screen.

Host

(Looking seriously) How often have you tried to get a hold of your psychologist and find that he is busy running a group or working with someone else individually? Some conversations just can’t wait! Well, wait no more with the new Sigmund Freud Action Figure (shows action figure in blister pack). Born in 1856 in what is now the Czech Republic, Freud is renown for not only helping to establish psychotherapy but also literally changing the way we think about thinking. Get your Freud action figure today; he wants you to tell him about your thoughts, feelings and dreams! [END INSERT]

Host

(Walks to stand in front of the desk) This is just a wonderful poem submitted by Mr. John Q. Public of Unit 7 South. Mr. Public (brief bio). His poem is entitled, “(poem title)”

(clears his throat and makes a brief show of straightening his tie and then reads the poem [unless the patient has auditioned and been cleared to read the poem personally, then the patient reads the poem]

Host

Wow! Just so inspiring…

Announcer

Dr. Reynolds, our time is almost up!

Host

So it is! I’d like to thank our guests today, Ms. Jane Doe and Ms. Sarah Smith. And I’d also like to thank Mr. John Q. Public for his poem. Don’t forget that you too can submit your own poetry, artwork, short essays, musical pieces… and even perform them on air if you pass the audition process.

Speaking of auditions, I am looking to have a patient co-host on the show. If you are interested, submit your name and unit on a piece of paper indicating your interest in being my co-host and send it to me, Dr. Reynolds, via BPC mail. Auditions will begin immediately.

And, please, drop us a line! We want to hear from you… get your feedback on today’s show as well as ideas for future show topics.

Oh! We are also currently running a contest to name the show. If you like the title “BPC Moment,” let us know. If you have another idea, send it to me, Dr. Reynolds, via BPC mail. Deadline for submissions is March 11. We will then ask you, the audience, which of the suggestions should become the new name or if BPC Moment is the name you prefer.

Wow! That went fast! That’s all for this BPC Moment! Take care!

[END]

Yes, I do have my own TV show

Today was the second pre-production meeting for a show with the working title, "BPC Moment." When I was first approached to host this in-house, closed circuit, television program, they wanted to call it "BPC Live"... I guess hoping that it would be "as good as" Saturday Night Live. Given that my feelings on SNL are mixed AND that "Live" can as easily be read with a short "i" as a long one, I suggested the title change. What's wrong with a short "i" in "live"? In this case, BPC is a long-term care psychiatric facility whose average length of stay currently exceeds one year. We don't want patients to think of themselves as living at BPC. We want them oriented on returning to the community; that their time in BPC is only a moment in their life. Hence, the title change.

Yeah, TV production is filled with all sorts of stupid arguments like the above. And, doing a TV show in a psychiatric facility has its own special issues and its own special opportunities. I'll spare you the issues and get you in on the "excitement" of the opportunities.

Since they asked me to host, I have done more than argue a program name change. I also suggested a talk show format and essentially bullied my way into pre-production meetings to act as a producer. Before I got involved, they were imagining a one-hour call in show ala Dr. Phil - with me dispensing pithy bits of earthy wisdom. Here are the zany ideas I countered with:

• I only want 15 minutes devoted to call-ins. The rest will be guest interviews and featured patient creative works. The last ten minutes of the hour will be given to the units to engage patients in discussion of the show.
• I want a patient as a co-host.
• I want a patient as a production technician.
• In addition to interesting staff, I want successful mental healthcare recipients as guests.
• I want to feature patient poetry, essays, musical pieces, and performance art.
• I want patients to submit "fan mail" and suggest future show topics.

All of those ideas were approved.

So far so good.

• I want 2 cameras, vision mixer with DVE, and a Character Generator.
• I want 2 wireless mics and a mixing console
• I want a studio with a host desk and chair, a guest couch, area rug, and wall decorations.

Um...

"It is good to dream, Dr. Reynolds," they say to me. Instead I will have one camera, one microphone, a desk with two chairs, and a fabric backdrop set up in the the corner of the video production room.

Well, that's showbiz!

Family Meeting

I work in a state hospital for people with severe and chronic mental health issues. Once a week, the entire interdisciplinary team for my all female inpatient unit assembles to discuss the course of recovery for the 27 patients in our care. That team consists of myself, a psychiatrist, physician, social worker, head nurse, occupational therapist, recreation therapist, pharmacist, peer advocate, and the team leader. For anywhere from two to three hours we sit and discuss health care issues, patient progress, and then meet with patients and sometimes their families. Today was one of the more difficult and painful family meetings I have attended.

These family meetings are supposed to be about 15 minutes. Last time we met with this family, it went for an hour. This was our second meeting. It lasted 45 minutes. The patient, who is in her twenties, was asked to be present although she is still grossly psychotic; as the meeting progressed, it was clear she wanted to participate but often was so symptomatic that she could not contribute very well. Fortunately, she made it through the entire meeting and was able to visit with her family before they left -- but that was the only happy part of this story.

In this meeting, the family related how, over the last several years, they have struggled with the healthcare system. They have essentially had to watch as their daughter, their sister, got worse and worse with a variety of healthcare institutions and providers. They conveyed how they felt that too many doctors had ignored their observations and their input. Now, she was at the "last stop" in the system. Her mother almost broke into tears as she stated that she felt that she feared that we were going to be like everyone else and that this is where her daughter would remain. I nearly cried as well and dug my nails into my palm reflexively; their despair was so palpable and my fear that she was right peaked.

We listened. We talked. But, try as we did, the meeting ended, again, with us seemingly at odds instead of united. While truly this case is heartbreaking, they all are. We get the most difficult cases in Western New York. Often it seems that we are left to undo the damage prior healthcare providers have wrought before we can even get at the mental health issue itself. In the five years I have been assigned to this unit, I have been a part of a dramatic improvement in the quality of care on my unit. I was the first full-time psychologist assigned to that unit in over twenty years. My unit has the fastest discharge rate and the lowest readmission rate in the hospital. I have been personally involved in the discharge of five patients who had been declared a "lost cause" (and they are all still doing well in the community). But, in all those cases, I have never had such a meeting with a family -- so full of frustration, anger, and despair. I don't think my team has changed for the worse -- indeed, I think our team is not only the best in the facility, it is also the best it has ever been. It is just this patient? Just this family? Or is it something else... a sign of a growing disconnect between people and the healthcare system? Time will tell I trust. All I know right now is that I want to prove that mother wrong.

Bujutsu Tetsugaku continued: Isshinryu No Megami

Megami

The symbol of Isshinryu is Megami or simply the "goddess." She is half sea-snake and half-woman. Some refer to her as Mizu Gami or "Water Goddess" as after a dream Master Tatsuo Shimabuku had of using an open left hand and closed right hand in response to a challenge to fight, he reportedly came across a painting depicting the Shinto Water Goddess in the same stance he recalled using in the dream. While the image of Mizu Gami appears to be incorporated into the Isshinryu emblem, Shinsho Shimabuku and Kensho Tokumura both indicate that it is not Mizu Gami; it is Isshinryu no Megami or Megami for short.

Yin Yang of Megami

In the simplest descriptions of Megami, she is half sea-snake and therefore has the strength of a snake. As half woman, she possesses a feminine grace and peacefulness. The left hand is open to convey peace. The right hand is closed to convey power. But, the image of Megami holds much more and important meanings.

Her image contains two pairs that are set as Yin Yang. Snake and Woman. Open Hand and Closed Fist.

Megami's snake aspect indicates a singular strength and deadly power as well as a rootedness to the material world. Serpents represent cunning and wisdom as well as healing and regeneration. Serpents can also be said to be a masculine symbol given their phallic form. Megami's feminine aspect represents grace and peacefulness. Unlike the snake, the woman symbolizes freshness, innocence, and creativity. Where the snake is masculine, deadly, and a bearer of knowledge, the woman is feminine (duh), nurturing, and open to learning.

Megami's open hand conveys peace. It also is welcoming and therefore represents courtesy and even modesty. Her clenched fist is a symbol of power. It represents perseverance and indomitable spirit. The open hand is peaceful and the closed fist is belligerent.

The Four Pillars, Megami, and the Salute

The hands of Megami inform the salute used in Isshinryu. The left hand is open and covers the knuckles of the closed right fist. This salute also serves as a quick mnemonic for the Four Pillars:

Form - The fingers of the left hand are expanded while the fingers of the right hand are contracted. This reminds us that conducting martial arts actions requires that we are mindful of the necessary expanding and contracting of our body and spirit.

Balance - the most difficult of the Four Pillars, it is brought to mind in the execution of the salute -- bringing the open hand together with the closed fist without sound of collision and then rotating the combined fist and hand to face downward and move away from the body parallel to the floor. Thus, we see the graceful rising, falling and then maintaining of a symbolic center of gravity as it moves through space. This reminds us that we must be aware of where our center of gravity is and how we intend it to change as we make a martial action.

Breathing - the closed fist symbolizes the drawing of breath into our bodies. The open hand symbolizes the exhalation of that breath. Their juxtaposition symbolizes how their timing is critical to the proper execution of any martial action.

Power - remind yourself of the Pillar of Power in realizing that the left hand is open. It is soft, light, fast. The right hand is closed. It is hard and dynamic. The salute reminds us that our performance of martial arts must balance both soft and hard actions.

On your own, consider how Megami also informs us of the Three Dimensions. For myself, I have only some half formed thoughts on Being that perhaps I will share another time.

Yin Yang and the Pillars of Heaven

Yin Yang

The concept that seemingly opposing aspects in truth define one another; that they are interconnected and give rise to one another. Yin may be dark and cold, but you can only truly know what that is by also knowing Yang which is bright and hot. They are complimentary opposites within a greater whole. You should not be able to think or speak of Yin without also thinking of or referencing Yang.

In martial arts, I believe you will find Yin Yang at the foundation: contracting and expanding in space (Form), rising and falling (Balance), inhaling and exhaling (Breathing), hard and soft movement (Power). The concept of Yin Yang also helps to better understand more abstract but still critical concepts to developing one's martial arts style: Energy (kiai and aiki), Matter (time and space), and Being (physical and metaphysical). Respectively, I refer to these as the Four Pillars and the Three Dimensions.

The Four Pillars

Form, Balance, Breathing, and Power. These four aspects are the most basic characteristics of any martial action whether it is taking a step, holding a stance, throwing a punch or launching a kick. Whenever one practices any technique, one could and probably should only focus on just one of those aspects. As indicated above, Form involves how we move our body -- expanding and contracting different elements of our body as we execute a technique. Balance involves controlling the rise and fall of our center of gravity. Breathing, most obviously, is the aspect of when and how we inhale and as well as exhale. Power is whether an action is hard or soft.

For example, when throwing a punch, Form would involve focusing on how one's fist and arm expands into the open space to meet the target and then contracts again to take it out of counterattack range. Balance would inform the movement as to whether it remains level or travels an arc along a chosen plane. Breathing informs us as to inhale prior to the punch and how to exhale through the punch. Power, of course, is our measure of the necessary energy to expend to most efficiently accomplish the objective.

The Three Dimensions

Energy, Matter, and Being. These three dimensions are present in each of the Four Pillars for any martial arts action. Each of them is a complex concept and deserves a blog post of its own. With regard to Energy, I refer you to my other blog entry on kiai and aiki. But, in short, Energy is a consideration of where we get energy and how we interact with it. Matter is, for my geek friends out there, the Time-Space continuum. When I use the term Matter it is shorthand for the physical reality that is the other part of the Matter - Energy equation. For the purposes of martial arts, Matter is a consideration of the timing involved in a martial action as well as the direction and space that an action requires. And, finally, Being not only directs us to consider the muscles, bones, organs, and nervous system involved in both us as well as our opponent, it also would have us consider qi -- the life force of ourselves as well as our opponent's.

For each of the Pillars, Energy, Matter, and Being should also be considered. Again using the example of a punch, when one is focusing on Power, consideration of Energy would have us think on whether we are drawing energy for our Power from our opponent or the universe (aiki) or from within our own reserves (kiai). Matter has us consider over how much Space and how much Time the Power is to be expended through -- as a snap or as a thrust or perhaps as a dynamic push. Finally, Being leads us to consider the physical aspect of that expression of Power but also the Metaphysical -- the punch impacts upon the opponent's body but it also impacts upon their qi.

Together the Four Pillars and Three Dimensions result in a matrix of 12 variables to be considered and managed for any given martial arts action. While that may become fairly easy to do after 500 repetitions of an action, to start it should be experienced by a student as near impossible. As you work on your martial arts, I would encourage you to spend any given session focusing on only one Pillar and perhaps only on one Dimension of that Pillar. If you consider that for a straight punch, this means that you would be limiting yourself to manipulating two variables. With Form and Matter, as an example, one would try to restrict one's thinking to focusing only upon expanding and contracting the muscles of one's arm and hand so as to be a snap, a thrust or push. This is manageable.

Bujutsu Tetsugaku - Intro

As I move toward my own "mastery" of Isshinryu karate, I have been thinking and talking and reading -- trying to develop my own philosophy of martial arts: my bujutsu tetsugaku. I believe that this should be the on-going task of a karateka whether working toward shodan or working toward godan and beyond. But, considered as a whole, it is a tremendous undertaking. Thus, I felt that if others could read how my thoughts progressed on this topic, it might help them organize their own thoughts on their personal bujutsu tetsugaku.

When one first ties on the obi and begins the journey through the grade or kyu levels, the ideas and ways of martial arts could be overwhelming. Just trying to recreate specific moves without feeling too foolish, falling over, running out of breath or even getting hurt can be all that fills a student's mind. In the lower grades, the student will be just about too overwhelmed to consider their martial arts philosophy. This is understood and tolerated at first. But, as the student advances through the kyus, it is expected that the student will become increasingly more responsible for developing their style AND their martial arts philosophy. It can be imagined as a model of developmental similar to going through the education system:

Elementary School

8 (Hachikyu) - Yellow Belt: 1st and 2nd Graders

7 (Shichikyu) - Orange Belt: 3rd and 4th Graders

Middle School

6 (Rokkyu) - Green Belt: 5th and 6th Graders

5 (Gokyu) - Blue Belt: 7th and 8th Graders

High School

4 (Yonkyu) - Purple Belt: Freshmen and Sophomores

3 (Sankyu) - Brown Belt: Juniors and Seniors

College

2 (Nikyu) - Brown/Black Belt: Freshmen and Sophomores

1 (Ikkyu) _ Red/Black Belt: Juniors and Seniors

Grad School

Shodan and up

If a student perseveres and gets to Sankyu and higher, then they have some talent for the art and are definitely motivated to learn. Now comes the time to develop a deeper and more personal understanding of the martial arts system they are training within. This should be a time for deciding what it is about their martial arts style that is personally interesting and important to the student. Once the rank of Shodan is attained, the logical next step is to take those beliefs and practices and develop one's own personal bujutsu tetsugaku.

In subsequent posts, I will share the current state of my martial arts philosophy. It makes sense to me as it is mine. While you may not know how I arrived at or necessarily even understand what I currently believe, think of what I present as an example that you can consider, use, or discard. Ultimately your own body and spirit will help you develop your own unique martial philosophy which may share some things in common with mine and in other ways perhaps completely differ.

NEXT TIME: Yin, Yang, and the Pillars of Heaven