Do you want to be a part of my latest groundbreaking research?

If you would like to be a part of my latest groundbreaking research on the influence of the mind on the body in IBD (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) you are very welcome to contact me to be considered:
(This link has now been removed - a further study will be carried out later in the year).

I am recruiting 2 groups - one group of people who have mild to moderate active disease and one group who has no history of Crohn's disease or Colitis. In your email subject line please tell me which group you belong to (IBD or No IBD) and the email address to which you would like me to send you the questionnaire to participate in the research.
I look forward to hearing from you! (No pain or invasive procedures involved, it will only take an hour at most and you can do this in the safety of your own home). I am looking for about 200 people for each group in order for this to go ahead. Thank you!

Your relationship with your bugs determines your health

Click here to:

Meet Your Microbes! - Another brilliant ted Talk!

 I completely agree with this argument and the premise of my work is that the mind and emotions have a major influence on this microbial relationship and the functioning of the immune system.

Olympic Torch Bearer: Bowel Transplant recipient carries the Olympic torch

For all those of you who have been grabbed by Olympic fever, you can see Michael Seres, Crohn's disease patient who received a new bowel in November 2011 carry the Olympic Torch in Welywyn Garden City on 8th July.
To hear his fascinating journey from being diagnosed with Crohn's disease aged 12 to receiving his new bowel and the challenges he has faced with enormous courage, watch the video of me interviewing him over Skype by CLICKING THIS LINK .

Fascinating Bowel Transplant Interview

This is a very frank interview with Michael Seres; a courageous Crohn's Disease patient and a remarkable man. He underwent a bowel transplant after Crohn's Disease had required 20 resections leaving him with very little bowel, compromised nutrition and TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition - which means being fed through a line into a vein).

This video is an overview of his journey from his first symptoms at the age of 10 to his post-transplant return to eating thirty years later. The interviews that we anticipate will follow this one will cover his expected ileostomy reversal and also the mental and emotional aspects of the transplant, including the mind-body effects that are my area of specialisation and research.
To find out more about The BUDI system for mind-body interaction for the relief of autoimmune symptoms see www.workingwithjoy.com www.budisystem.com and www.thebudizone.com and you can see Michael's blog at http://beingapatient.blogspot.com

The beautiful synaesthetic music of Gary Malkin

I have just listened to an interview with Gary Malkin, the film soundtrack composer, talking about the healing effect of music. Here is a video featuring his music and some beautiful words. When you play it, stop what you are doing, be still, and feel. Apparently, music "tuned" to a specific frequency will glow purple, i.e. it 's emitting light. A large proportion of our body is water. Is it any wonder that music is thought to affect us at the cellular level. If we go deeper, we are all vibration, which is sound. Enjoy! Interview with God (Not to be confused with Conversations with God)

My interview with amazing bowel transplant recipient

First, the bad news: I was hoping that today's post would include the video of an amazing no-holds-barred interview I held on Monday with the wonderfully courageous recipient of a bowel transplant, relaying his experience of Crohn's since the age of twelve and his journey through parenteral line feeding to his transplant in November 2011 and a return to eating last week!
We recorded the interview over Skype last Monday - and it was absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately, the recording gremlins were at work and the file was corrupted and not even an entire day spent on transatlantic communication with the techie gurus at the recording software company could retrieve the file.
Now the good news: Undaunted, Michael has very generously agreed to a repeat performance late next week and it promises to be even better, as last week was the first time we had spoken and this time we can hopefully cover more ground. Of course I will be looking at the amazing mind-body interaction aspect of the transplant as you would expect, and I can't wait! Watch this space! - Joy

The Dalai Lama goes into a Pizza Shop and.....

The Dalai Lama is interviewed by an Australian TV news reporter who tells him this joke....

"The Dalai Lama goes into a Pizza parlour and says "Can you make me one with everything?" The Dalai Lama asks his translator for a translation and then says "Ah, Pizza shop" and goes back to listening intently to the interviewer, who repeats the joke and, laughing, tries painstakingly to explain the joke, "Can you make me ONE..."  (pauses for emphasis as he tries to demonstrate to the Dalai Lama by holding his hands together as if in prayer) "... with EVERYTHING" (the interviewer gestures a large space with his hands and starts to laugh at the hole he's digging for himself). The Dalai Lama again asks his translator for some clarification and then resumes concentrating on the interviewer intently and smiling, he says, "Theoretically impossible" upon which the interviewer laughs with embarrassment and says, "I knew this wouldn't work" upon which the Dalai Lama starts to laugh.
You might think this was the end of the joke, and I guess you're wondering, "Where's the connection with Crohn's and Mind-body interaction?", well wonder, no longer......

Here is a comment  posted on the same page where this interview was reported. Continuing the joke's theme it provides a lovely illustration of the Lama's reply:
"The Dalai Lama gives $100 and waits, but the waiter says (drum roll), "the change comes only from within"."
There you go!
Love it.