Leilani Beaubien Ware  

Since age 5, I knew I wanted to be a nurse.   I was in the hospital after a tonsillectomy when I was awestruck with the nurse who was caring for me; she smiled a lot and was warm and kind.   I clearly remember saying to myself that I wanted to be like her, and that I wanted to become a nurse. 

           Kuan Yin Goddess of Compassion & Mercy

I fulfilled that dream in 1983 when I graduated from Michigan State University.  In my 24 year career, I have worked in numerous areas from cardiac care, critical and emergency room care to my current position in cancer research.  

I loved the early years of my career because I felt as though time allowed me to care for my patients in a way that made a difference in their lives and in the lives of their family members.   But as Medicare and insurance companies began to decrease reimbursement for care, the manner in which patient care was administered began to change.                      

Being a nurse was becoming stressful and tiresome, instead of fulfilling and joyful.   And from my perspective, healthcare became about treating disease and illness in an assembly line and cookie cutter fashion.    

So when Deepak Chopra came to our church and spoke about Ayurveda, I listened.

And at age 40, when I was newly diagnosed with food allergies, I became concerned.

I took advantage of every opportunity that I could to see Deepak Chopra, and began reading his books.  

In 2004, I completed the Graduate Certificate Program in Complementary Medicine and Wellness.   In 2006, I completed the requirements to become a Chopra Center Certified Instructor to teach the signature course, Perfect Health.

All of my subsequent education since graduating from MSU in 1983 has been about Holistic health~the integration of body, mind and soul.   And my focus has shifted from caring for patients with diseases to teaching people how to prevent illness and disease.  This shift in thinking and perspective is what facilitated my own healing.    

Once I learned Primordial Sound Meditation in 2000, the stress that was both affecting my marriage and that induced my food allergies began to dissipate.   And the many other symptoms that I was experiencing, (insomnia, constipation, fatigue) as a result of stress also began to disappear.   Meditation taps into the silence that exists beyond our daily 50,000 thoughts.   And it is in that silence that we begin to heal ourselves.   When we integrate the body, mind and soul, we access the intuitive part of ourselves that knows where balance and peace resides.  

These are stressful times in our lives, and research has shown that stress has a tremendous effect on our immune system.   When our immune system is weakened we become more susceptible to illness and life-threatening diseases.  

We live in a time where we have no choice but to shift the way in which we live our lives.   We cannot afford, emotionally or financially, to wait until a disease occurs before we make different choices in our lives.  

Through the simple wisdom of Ayurveda and meditation, we can learn to prevent illness and disease, and to live a long life of happiness, love, and purpose.