FollowDr. Murali Krishna shares secret to healing, happiness, health
Every day, people run through life, frantic with the idea of “not enough time” and “too much stress.”
Imagine instead a life free of stress and anger and regret. Imagine living in a place of happiness and contentment. Imagine tapping into the strength of the mind that most people have yet to discover.
Imagine mindfulness.
That’s the message that Dr. Murali Krishna, MD, DLFAPA, president and chief operating officer for Integris Mental Health, and president and co-founder of the James L. Hall, Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit, has for the world.
His message is this: Mindfulness is a great strength. Every person has the ability to embrace the ancient wisdom of living mindfully to create emotional, physical and spiritual well-being.
“I want every person to know they have unlimited potential,” said Krishna. “We can train ourselves to live fully in the beauty of life by being self-aware and practicing mindfulness. Just take that first step.”
A JOURNEY THROUGH PAIN
Krishna was exposed to mindfulness early as a young boy living in India. His grandfather, a prime minister for a small kingdom, quit his powerful position after a near-death experience, and retired to administer healing to the villages.
“When I was 3 or 4 years old, we would spend the summer with my grandfather,” said Krishna. “I tagged along with him whenever he went out. He volunteered to serve the villagers. He would greet all the people. He was a beautiful force.”
When young Krishna became distracted, his grandfather told him to enjoy each moment.
“He said, ‘When you see the sun, enjoy its rays and really feel the sun,’” Krishna said. “I didn’t understand at the time, but as I got older, I began living in the moment.”
Krishna’s mother also led the boy to his path, but in a way that was painful and terrifying. His mother, who was “bursting with so much love,” became ill when Krishna was 9. She suddenly became a ghost.
In the 1950s, no one in India knew about her major brain disorder that caused mood swings, crippling depression and erratic behavior.
“I came home from school one day just as she had started to catch herself on fire,” said Krishna. “I jumped on her and was able to put the fire out. That night, I couldn’t sleep. I just watched her.”
That night, his mother climbed out of bed and walked to the river. Krishna followed her and when his mother stepped into the black water, he knew she was trying to drown herself.
“I called out to her, and she looked back at me. But she kept walking, so went to her. I caught up to her but the water was to my nose and I couldn’t swim,” Krishna said. “She knew at that moment that I would die before her, and she picked me up and carried me to shore. We were both weeping. It was the most painful moment of my life.”
A doctor visited the family in the dead of night to help. The young doctor was a godsend, and Krishna, who excelled in math and dreamed of becoming a NASA engineer, knew that he would become a doctor too.
“I went back to India some years ago and found him. He is completely blind now, but he is still alive,” Krishna said. “I told him that story. He cried and thanked me.”
Krishna left the childhood indulgences of sports and play behind and studied as hard as he could. At age 15 and a half, he was accepted into the Andhra Medical College. At 21, he practiced family medicine and was immensely successful in the village where he practiced. After studying in England, he moved to Oklahoma in 1975 at the behest of Dr. Jay Shurley, a psychiatrist and military veteran who taught at the University of Oklahoma.
FROM TERROR TO TRUTH
Krishna was chief of staff at St. Anthony’s when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred on April 19, 1995. As the closest hospital to the bombing site, the first three days were a blur of work for Krishna. At the end of the third night, another doctor approached him and asked an odd question.
“He said, ‘What makes you so good?’” Krishna said. “I told him hard work and good mentors, but he said, ‘Murali, people trust you. They like you. What makes you different? I want you to think about it.’”
That night, Krishna woke from a dead sleep with the answer. His mother was the reason.
“Through my mother, I learned empathy. I had the ability to focus in this moment with your pain, thoughts, hopes and dreams,” he said. “I also realized, if not for her suffering, I would not be a doctor and not know the tens of thousands of lives I’ve met.”
From that moment on, Krishna had a mission. He wanted to help people find the best of themselves.
“God, please, use me up before you take me.”
FINDING THE MINDFULNESS
“From that point on, I decided to dedicate my life to making God’s children reach their potential,” Krishna said. “I took a turn. All my best work came after. The meaning of my mother’s suffering was clearly given to me, and all the bitterness and traumatic feelings went away.”
Krishna joined with Integris’ Mental Health department and helped to form the INTEGRIS James L. Hall, Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit. He created a system that emphasized the health of not only the physical body, but the mind and spirit as well.
“Mind, body, spirit is operating all the time,” he said. “For 20,000 years, we have learned to control our outside environment, and we don’t live in icy cold or in the dark or in the heat. We tamed the outside environment, but we have not mastered a bit of our internal environment. We are no better at mastering the mind.”
Mastering the mind begins with self-awareness, he said. Look at yourself with true eyes. The next step is mindfulness and living in each moment with awareness and gratitude.
“The power has always been within you,” Krishna said. “You can develop the skills now so that every moment is mindful, and beautiful, magical things will happen in your life.”
To learn more about mindfulness and Dr. Krishna, and to access his Art of Happy Living podcasts and Live Life Well videos, visit integrisok.com/mental-health. Also visit drkrishna.com for additional books, podcasts, videos and more.
His book, “Vibrant: To Heal and Be Whole”, is also available on Amazon. Side note: President Barack Obama was gifted Dr. Krishna’s book and sent Krishna a note of thanks and a proclamation.
More information about Dr. Krishna
Dr. Murali Krishna is Oklahoma’s “happiness” doctor, but that seems a very flippant way to describe him. There is a sense of deepness and serenity about him that draws one in. He’s not a witch doctor or a “new age” kind of guru either. In fact, his practice of mindfulness for total body health is rooted deeply in medical science.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn from the University of California backs up Krishna’s claims. She won a Nobel Prize in 2009 when she discovered an enzyme that plays a key role in cell aging. The more stressed you are, the faster those cells age.
Additionally, mindful practice reduces the size and excessive reactivity of the amygdale, which is part of the brain that processes emotions, memories and decision-making and stress response. Dr. Sara Lazar and her team at Harvard Medical School also has research that shows mindfulness stress management leads to an increase of grey matter in your brain.
These mindfulness studies are leading to advances in science in the field of human social genomics and how these practices lead to the improvement of emotional and physical illnesses, such as addictions, sleep disorders, chronic pain, obesity, cardiovascular disorders and more.
Dr. Krishna’s Mindful Keys for a Happy Vibrant Life
+Learn to quiet the mind
+Reignite your passion and purpose
+Act with empowerment
+Cultivate harmony
+Rejuvenate and care for yourself
+Nurture healthy connections
+Savor altruism and spirituality
By Heide Brandes
