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About 20 years ago, I started thinking about whether my name was right for me. Like most people, I neither loved nor hated it, and I felt it was kind of silly or frivolous to consider changing it. But I wasnât sure that the name Peter was serving me anymore.Â
Around that time, I met a Vedic astrologer named Bharat who offered to draw up my chart. Based on the time and place of my birth, he told me my first name should ideally start with the sound âLo.â It just so happens that my middle name is Logan, which felt like quite a coincidence, and the idea of going by my middle name seemed less eccentric than changing it to something entirely new. Â
I was acquainted with an elderly woman who had a reputation for knowing what the right name for a person was, so I decided to get her opinion. We were in a dance class together, and after class one day I asked her what she thought about my going by Logan instead of Peter. âLet me think about it,â she replied.Â
A week later she told me, âIf you went by Logan, a part of your personality that comes through with the âPeeâ sound in Peter would be lost. And I like that part.âÂ
I trusted her, so I let go of the idea of calling myself Logan, but I continued to feel that I might be limited by my name. There was a growing sense that every time I used this name I was reinforcing the notion that my identity is the history, beliefs, and personality of Peter Logan Borten. Â
I started to feel differently about people who changed their names as part of a healing process or spiritual awakening. I realized that it must have taken a lot of courage. They risked weirding-out their friends, family, and coworkers for the sake of something more important â their own freedom and potential.Â
In our advanced level Dragontree Life Coaching training last weekend, we did a day-long process about death. More striking than the fears people had about the death of their bodies was the angst â and liberation â surrounding the death of their ego (including their personal history and all of their stories about themselves).Â
Part of the process was giving a title to an internal story. Any time you find yourself feeling like a victim, like life is treating you unfairly, or that things aren't going according to the plan, it can be useful to determine if thereâs a story that youâre subconsciously participating in and then give it a title. For instance: âI Lost My Only Chance at True Loveâ or âI Always Hold Back From My True Potentialâ or âNobody Respects Me.â There are small stories and big, overarching stories.Â
Often, weâre unaware of the stories weâve constructed, but when we come up with a title it's easy to see how much we comply with the narrative. We can be so insistent on the validity of the story that weâre almost compelled to keep playing the tragic main character.Â
Two of the big questions that came up in our weekend were, âHow am I limited by this identity?â and âWho would I be without it?â We avoid abandoning the story because: (1) it means we were âwrongâ about this story being true, (2) it means doing something new, unknown, and uncomfortable, and (3) it means letting go of whatever âbenefitsâ we may have derived from perpetuating that story. But I encourage you to take a moment to feel into that second question. What if you were able to let go of all of your stories and identities â who would you be? What would you do? How would life feel?Â
Our stories are usually attached to the name of the main character. Sometimes the bond is very strong, other times weaker. In many cultures, taking a new name upon beginning a new chapter is an established and culturally acceptable rite, but thatâs not often the case in the West. So, do we need to get rid of our name in order to let go of our story?Â
In my opinion, itâs not essential but for many people it makes liberation and empowerment easier. I can tell you with utter certainty and conviction that I am not Peter Logan Borten. Peter Logan Borten is the name assigned to this body and the personality attached to it, but the name Peter Logan Borten doesn't come close to encompassing my true identity. This is also true for the Being bearing your name. Numerous religions say the same about assigning a name to God. The first line of the Daoist classic, Dao De Jing, is âThe Dao that can be named is not the true Dao.âÂ
Even if your name doesnât feel like a heavy weight, perhaps you can still perceive that youâre less than your Whole, Authentic Self when youâre playing the part of the character who has your name. If so, I recommend doing some journaling on this. Consider these questions:Â
- How do you feel about your name?
- Who is [insert your name here]?
- Whatâs one (or more) of your limiting stories?
- When you play the part of [your name] how are you limited?
- Who would you be without this identity?
- How does it feel to consider letting go of your name?Â
- Is there another name that feels right for you? A name without baggage â and better yet, a name that feels like it would unleash new potential?
If you do feel baggage attached to your current name, but, like most people, youâre not willing to change it, see if you can âcleanseâ the name. Imagine youâre deleting all of your nameâs âcookiesâ like youâd do to clear your web browserâs history â release all old perspectives and associations. Or come up with your own process for refreshing that name and making it your own, such as writing it on a piece of paper and burning it; writing it on something washable and immersing it in water; reclaiming it, loving it, breathing new life into it; making art thatâs centered around your name, etc.
You could also watch how you introduce yourself, and rather than making your name your identity by saying, for instance, âI AM Peter,â make the subtle change to, âMy nameâs Peter.â If a name comes to you that would feel fresh and liberating, you can try using it just with yourself, or share it with only those with whom youâre most comfortable.Â
Notice what happens. Does it feel different when people use your name? Do you feel freer to be yourself when you use a different name or have âcleansedâ your current name? Share with us below. Have you changed your name? What was your experience with retiring your given name and choosing a new one?
Be well,
The Being Formerly Known as Peter
[post_title] => A Rose by any other Name would Smell as Sweet
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Lots of people are anxious about this illness â and the impact of mass hysteria â so I want to share some rational advice on what you can do to stay well in both body and mind, including some specific supplements that may help. Iâll also explain what weâre doing at our spas to make them a safe place for you and our employees.
It is our mission to create a more peaceful world through more peaceful individuals. In order to give you and our staff the best chance at peace of mind, we will be temporarily closing the Spa until further notice. We will be monitoring COVID-19 the situation closely and plan on reassessing each day with plans on reopening as soon as possible.Â
We invite you to join us on our Facebook group, Dragontree Community and Conversations. There, you will find community, connection, and on-going wisdom from our Founders, Dr. Peter and Briana Borten.Â
You can find our online community here: thedragontree.com/community
Here is a replay of our Facebook Live where we share more details on each of these points for our community.
[embed]https://www.facebook.com/TheDragontree/videos/211888856841144/[/embed]
Here are my top recommendations for staying peaceful and healthy:Â
- Keep Breathing. Any time you feel stressed, bring your attention back to your breath. The breath is a built-in mindfulness tool. You watch your breath come in and go out and instantly youâre in the present â rather than letting your mind run away with you. Besides simply bringing your attention to your breath throughout the day, you can also practice making your exhale very long, and as you breathe out, imagine youâre releasing tension and fear. The Vietnamese monk, ThĂch NhẼt Hấnh, has written that many of his fellow monks lived through atrocities during the Vietnam War, but were able to maintain their sanity and inner peace through Buddhist mindfulness practices. Another reason to practice breathing is to keep your lungs strong and resilient. All day long we fall into the habit of shallow breathing. Our lungs have a capacity of about 6 liters of air, but we usually take breaths of only half a liter in size! Imagine as you inhale that youâre filling up the bowl of your pelvis, that your breath goes so deep that you can feel your hips expanding from the inside as your belly expands.
- Avoid Lung Pollutants. If youâre interested in healthy lungs, itâs a good time to stop smoking, wear a mask while doing sanding or painting or other dusty activities, and quit toxic air fresheners and cleaners. It has been theorized that the high mortality rate in China is due in part to air pollution and smoking.Â
- Maintain Healthy Digestion. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the digestive system is considered to support the respiratory system (in TCM terminology, âEarth is the mother of Metalâ). Itâs why we find that so many kids with asthma and allergies have digestive problems, and why so many food sensitivities cause respiratory symptoms. In biomedicine, thereâs a growing understanding that the lining - or epithelium - of the digestive tract, especially the intestines, has a relationship with other epithelial tissues - like the lining of the lungs. A healthy digestive tract goes hand-in-hand with healthy lungs. For this reason itâs always a good idea to follow good nutritional practices (if you donât know what these are, check out my online course, How to Eat), including frequent consumption of fermented foods like sauerkraut and/or occasionally taking probiotics.Â
- Exercise. Exercise tones virtually all systems of the body, including the respiratory tract and the immune system. I recommend getting exercise of an intensity that makes your breathing labored, and ideally not doing it in frigid or polluted air. Just donât overdo it - ideally, youâre exercising enough to build energy, not exhaust yourself.Â
- Avoid Sugar. Eat Nutrient Dense Foods. Sugar can increase inflammation and suppress immune function. Besides, itâs just empty calories. Many times Iâve had patients tell me about how an infection worsened dramatically after they ate a big dessert. Instead, why not make this an opportunity to eat super nourishing foods?
- Wash Your Hands and Donât Touch Your Face. You know this, of course. Just make a rule with yourself that you donât touch your face unless youâve just washed your hands. And you donât need hand sanitizer - soap and water work better. Be sure to get under your nails. Also, if youâre finding - like me - that your hands are getting dry and irritated from all this hand washing (!!) use lotion. We happen to make some that you might like.Â
- Get Enough Sleep. Nothing supports the immune system like a good nightâs sleep. If we could all go to bed at the first inkling of sickness, much of the time we wouldnât even get sick.Â
- Keep Playing and Connecting. Play has a singular value in reminding us how to be lighthearted. Even in the midst of hoarding and hysteria, we must take time to play and to connect with our loved ones and the natural world. It grounds us. It pacifies our hearts. It gives us perspective. Even if we canât touch, we can still be connected.Â
- Take Supportive Nutrients and Herbs. Authorities discourage saying that anything helps the coronavirus, but there are a number of supplements that I trust as immune enhancers. I take them myself, I recommend them to my patients, and I give them to my family. I canât promise that it will prevent or mitigate the coronavirus, but you can do your own research and decide for yourself.Â
- Selenium. Adequate dietary selenium helps us fight RNA viruses like COVID-19, but many parts of the country have minimal selenium in the soil, leading to crops with minimal selenium. That said, unless youâre eating everything from local farms, the selenium status of soils in your area might not say much about your selenium status. You can get selenium capsules in the form of selenomethionine. 200 micrograms a day is plenty (half that is probably enough for most people). A single Brazil nut contains about 75 micrograms of selenium, so you could also skip the pill and eat just two nuts a day.
- Jade Wind Screen. This Chinese herbal formula was first recorded in a text in 1481, so itâs been in use for 539 years. The name comes from the idea that it is a screen against âwindâ - i.e., airborne pathogens. Itâs intended to simultaneously strengthen the lungs and digestive system while simultaneously promoting the circulation of âdefensive Qiâ (superficial immune cells), and it is generally taken as a preventive supplement rather than as a treatment for sickness. TCM physicians in Wuhan have had considerable success in treating patients with COVID-19 with herbal formulas. They have developed protocols for each stage of the illness and a modified version of this formula is their basic âpreventativeâ formula. You can find Jade Wind Screen in liquid or pill form through numerous companies.  I am in the process of making a large batch of the formula as a tincture, with my own additions based roughly on the Wuhan variation. We will have it available for sale soon (at our usual tincture prices). We canât claim that it cures or prevents COVID-19, but I have my whole family taking it, and it means something to me that TCM has a millennia-long history of treating epidemic diseases.Â
- Vitamin D. Blood levels of vitamin D are directly correlated with immune function, and deficiency is common, especially in the winter. I recommend - with or without the threat of coronavirus - that people take at least 35 units of vitamin D per pound of body weight per day (e.g., a 100-pound person can take 3500 IUâs of vitamin D a day).Â
- Vitamin C. Besides its ability to enhance immune function, vitamin C may help prevent the progression of lung infections to pneumonia and may also help to clear fluid from the lungs in active pneumonia. If you get sick, I believe vitamin C works best for infections when consumed almost to âbowel toleranceâ - that is, just below the quantity that causes diarrhea. Any vitamin C is fine, but I particularly like the âliposomalâ or fat-bound forms of vitamin C - they seem to be more active and have less effect on digestion.Â
- Vitamin A. Vitamin A enhances immune function also. I usually take a high dose of 100,000 to 200,000 units per day for the first few days of an infection and often that stops it in its tracks. Because there are reports of liver toxicity with very high doses of vitamin A for prolonged periods, I generally donât recommend using these kinds of doses for more than a week. If you have liver problems, you should skip it. Also, large amounts of vitamin A are a bad idea for pregnant women â it can cause birth defects. (Beta carotene, which is converted by the body to vitamin A as needed, is safe for pregnant women.)
- Rhodiola. Rhodiola rosea is a mountainous herb with adaptogenic and calming properties. Taken over time, it improves our ability to adapt to stresses of all kinds. It reduces fatigue and builds resilience.Â
- Mushrooms. Virtually all mushrooms help improve immune function. Some of my favorites are ganoderma (reishi), maitake (grifola), agaricus blazeii, chaga, and cordyceps. Many companies now make mushroom extracts for immune support. I like Host Defense because their founder, Paul Stamets, is an expert and pioneer in the world of medicinal mushrooms.
- Sang Ju Yin. This TCM formula (also known as Mulberry Leaf and Chrysanthemum Decoction) is used by Wuhan doctors for the very earliest stage of infection - especially when thereâs a dry cough, fever, and maybe a sore throat. Itâs available from many companies in liquid and pill form. If you canât procure any, a practitioner of Chinese Medicine may be able to make you some. Otherwise, our Cold & Flu Formula is a reasonable substitute.
- Lactoferrin. Lactoferrin is a protein that occurs naturally in the human body, especially in human milk (particularly the first milk, known as colostrum), saliva, tears, and other fluids. It can also be extracted from cowâs milk. Itâs a powerful component of our immune system, exhibiting anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial activity. Itâs specifically been shown to help prevent viruses like COVID-19 from entering our cells.Â
- If You Feel Sick, Act Fast. Whether itâs one of the supplements above or something else, have it with you at all times so that you can take it at the very first feeling that youâre unwell. Then take a nap and when you wake up, take some more! This ensures the best chance of effectiveness. Meanwhile, do the right thing and stay home until you know youâre well.Â
- Meditate. Meditation has a unique value in times of turmoil. It opens up space in our consciousness which helps us to not be run by our minds. We see that weâre not our thoughts, and further, that we donât even need to believe our thoughts. We receive insights. We reset our nervous system. And we reconnect with a Self thatâs more authentic, more consistent, more honest, more loving and ever-present than the unbalanced ego weâve been giving all our attention. Meditation is the antidote to hysteria. (If you feel you need additional mood support, you might benefit from our Anxiety Herbal Formula and check out this Anxiety White Paper I wrote.)
Finally, letâs all Stay Rational. People are often talking about fatality rates of COVID-19 rather than survival rates. And for most healthy adults, your chances of surviving an infection with this virus is 99% or better. Raging and freaking out wonât help, and may even compound the stress on your system. (Forgive yourself.) Keep looking for the silver linings. Stay in touch with your community. This too shall pass!
Love,Â
Dr. Peter Borten
[1] How COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) is Currently Treated in China with TCMÂ
[2] Vitamin C may affect lung infectionsÂ
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The new 2021 Rituals for Living Dreambook+Planner will be released in a couple weeks, and thereâs been a huge surge of interest in it this year, so I decided to share a bit more about what makes it special. Itâs easy when life feels very full to get into a routine of simply managing your many activities, perhaps with an attitude of doing it just to get done with it. But the richness of life is in the little moments, so we wanted to help our readers be more present with whatever theyâre engaged in.Â
Thich Nhat Hanhâs discussion on washing the dishes is one of the most quoted passages on the topic of mindfulness, but I could hear it and share it a million times: âThere are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes. . . . If while washing the dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not âwashing the dishes to wash the dishes.â Whatâs more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes.â
The consequences of mindlessly washing the dishes may be minimal, but what about the consequences of mindlessly eating, mindlessly doing our job, mindlessly playing with our kids, or mindlessly conversing with our partner? A life without our presence â because weâre just trying to get through it â is devoid of the magic, connection, and grace that make it worth living.Â
There are a number of ways to change this outcome-focused orientation. One of the most potent, which we share in the Dreambook, is identifying your life purpose.Â
When you have a purpose, youâre conscious that youâre serving a bigger function than meeting your own needs. When youâre âon purpose,â energy arises to support your work. Opportunities appear everywhere. And, most importantly, you spend more of your life right here, right now, alive and clear.Â
Various methods exist for determining your life purpose, but when it comes down to it, itâs a matter of guessing and/or intuiting what youâre meant to do, feeling it out, and choosing to pursue it. Itâs okay if you later decide to modify that choice.
We have a more involved process in the Dreambook, but for today letâs see what comes to you with just a few minutes of contemplation. Grab a pen and paper and write a few sentences in response to these questions:Â
What times and places in your life did you feel you were making a meaningful contribution?
What value do you bring to a community?Â
What inspires you?Â
What would people say your strengths are?Â
When/how do you feel called to serve humankind or the planet?Â
What are your highest values (e.g., kindness, generosity, honesty, service, integrity, beauty, etc.)?Â
Based on these responses, craft a statement that conveys how you intend to serve the world. Here are some examples:
- My purpose is to help people heal through creative expression.
- My life purpose is to build healthy communities.Â
- My purpose is to help people use their voices and awaken their power.Â
- My purpose is to facilitate playfulness in adults.
- My purpose is to teach people how to live in harmony with the environment.Â
- My purpose is to help people actualize their potential.Â
Donât worry about getting the statement perfect on the first round. For now, choose a statement of life purpose and read it out loud and with intention. How does that feel? Ideally, making this statement should feel powerful and right, or as my friend Reuvain puts it, it should feel like a âhell yeah!â. It might even give you goosebumps or tingles. If it feels a bit intimidating, thatâs ok, too, as long as it also feels true.Â
If it doesnât feel like a âhell yeah!â change some of the wording. Consider making it less specific. For instance, if a statement such as, âMy purpose is to help children to become healthy adults by learning to process their emotionsâ doesn't feel as inspiring as you hoped, you could start by broadening it to something like, âMy purpose is to help children process their emotions,â or even just, âMy purpose is to help children.â Just get it as accurate as you can manage and then write it down. I recommend writing it in a special way on a nice piece of paper. Put it somewhere where youâll see it and say it every morning.Â
More importantly, try to keep it in mind throughout your day, applying it as often as you can. Track this process. What changes when youâre on purpose? Is it easier to make decisions? Do people respond differently to you? Is there more energy available? Consciously living your purpose is the only way to know if itâs right. As you live your purpose, youâll get insights that will help you refine your purpose statement. Iâd love to hear about your experience with this process.Â
Be well,
Peter
P.S. My life purpose is to help the world heal and awaken, and I hope Iâve served that purpose today!
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About 20 years ago, I started thinking about whether my name was right for me. Like most people, I neither loved nor hated it, and I felt it was kind of silly or frivolous to consider changing it. But I wasnât sure that the name Peter was serving me anymore.Â
Around that time, I met a Vedic astrologer named Bharat who offered to draw up my chart. Based on the time and place of my birth, he told me my first name should ideally start with the sound âLo.â It just so happens that my middle name is Logan, which felt like quite a coincidence, and the idea of going by my middle name seemed less eccentric than changing it to something entirely new. Â
I was acquainted with an elderly woman who had a reputation for knowing what the right name for a person was, so I decided to get her opinion. We were in a dance class together, and after class one day I asked her what she thought about my going by Logan instead of Peter. âLet me think about it,â she replied.Â
A week later she told me, âIf you went by Logan, a part of your personality that comes through with the âPeeâ sound in Peter would be lost. And I like that part.âÂ
I trusted her, so I let go of the idea of calling myself Logan, but I continued to feel that I might be limited by my name. There was a growing sense that every time I used this name I was reinforcing the notion that my identity is the history, beliefs, and personality of Peter Logan Borten. Â
I started to feel differently about people who changed their names as part of a healing process or spiritual awakening. I realized that it must have taken a lot of courage. They risked weirding-out their friends, family, and coworkers for the sake of something more important â their own freedom and potential.Â
In our advanced level Dragontree Life Coaching training last weekend, we did a day-long process about death. More striking than the fears people had about the death of their bodies was the angst â and liberation â surrounding the death of their ego (including their personal history and all of their stories about themselves).Â
Part of the process was giving a title to an internal story. Any time you find yourself feeling like a victim, like life is treating you unfairly, or that things aren't going according to the plan, it can be useful to determine if thereâs a story that youâre subconsciously participating in and then give it a title. For instance: âI Lost My Only Chance at True Loveâ or âI Always Hold Back From My True Potentialâ or âNobody Respects Me.â There are small stories and big, overarching stories.Â
Often, weâre unaware of the stories weâve constructed, but when we come up with a title it's easy to see how much we comply with the narrative. We can be so insistent on the validity of the story that weâre almost compelled to keep playing the tragic main character.Â
Two of the big questions that came up in our weekend were, âHow am I limited by this identity?â and âWho would I be without it?â We avoid abandoning the story because: (1) it means we were âwrongâ about this story being true, (2) it means doing something new, unknown, and uncomfortable, and (3) it means letting go of whatever âbenefitsâ we may have derived from perpetuating that story. But I encourage you to take a moment to feel into that second question. What if you were able to let go of all of your stories and identities â who would you be? What would you do? How would life feel?Â
Our stories are usually attached to the name of the main character. Sometimes the bond is very strong, other times weaker. In many cultures, taking a new name upon beginning a new chapter is an established and culturally acceptable rite, but thatâs not often the case in the West. So, do we need to get rid of our name in order to let go of our story?Â
In my opinion, itâs not essential but for many people it makes liberation and empowerment easier. I can tell you with utter certainty and conviction that I am not Peter Logan Borten. Peter Logan Borten is the name assigned to this body and the personality attached to it, but the name Peter Logan Borten doesn't come close to encompassing my true identity. This is also true for the Being bearing your name. Numerous religions say the same about assigning a name to God. The first line of the Daoist classic, Dao De Jing, is âThe Dao that can be named is not the true Dao.âÂ
Even if your name doesnât feel like a heavy weight, perhaps you can still perceive that youâre less than your Whole, Authentic Self when youâre playing the part of the character who has your name. If so, I recommend doing some journaling on this. Consider these questions:Â
- How do you feel about your name?
- Who is [insert your name here]?
- Whatâs one (or more) of your limiting stories?
- When you play the part of [your name] how are you limited?
- Who would you be without this identity?
- How does it feel to consider letting go of your name?Â
- Is there another name that feels right for you? A name without baggage â and better yet, a name that feels like it would unleash new potential?
If you do feel baggage attached to your current name, but, like most people, youâre not willing to change it, see if you can âcleanseâ the name. Imagine youâre deleting all of your nameâs âcookiesâ like youâd do to clear your web browserâs history â release all old perspectives and associations. Or come up with your own process for refreshing that name and making it your own, such as writing it on a piece of paper and burning it; writing it on something washable and immersing it in water; reclaiming it, loving it, breathing new life into it; making art thatâs centered around your name, etc.
You could also watch how you introduce yourself, and rather than making your name your identity by saying, for instance, âI AM Peter,â make the subtle change to, âMy nameâs Peter.â If a name comes to you that would feel fresh and liberating, you can try using it just with yourself, or share it with only those with whom youâre most comfortable.Â
Notice what happens. Does it feel different when people use your name? Do you feel freer to be yourself when you use a different name or have âcleansedâ your current name? Share with us below. Have you changed your name? What was your experience with retiring your given name and choosing a new one?
Be well,
The Being Formerly Known as Peter
[post_title] => A Rose by any other Name would Smell as Sweet
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