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Dr. Andrew & Diana Bonnici - Integrated Health Practitioners
Diana and Andrew Bonnici are some of our fair members living in the Aloha
state. The Bonnicis moved to Hawaii from Central California. One son and his
family lived in Hawaii and their other son and his family moved over 2 years
ago. So now the whole family, including four grandchildren, live on the Big
Island.
This kat can’t take credit for getting to know the Bonnicis in the first place
(Cindy corresponded with Diana after Diana sent a note earlier this year about
one of
Cindy’s blogs on a mindfulness series that is finally debuting this month
through the Co-op).
However, I can publish the interview Cindy did with Diana and Andrew
earlier this year.
As
introduction, long-time meditation practitioner, Diana is a Daily Life Practice
Consultant, who has studied integrative body psychotherapy, hypnosis, emotional
freedom technique, eye movement desensitization, and many other modalities of
working with people. She is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist in California.
According to Diana’s web site:
www.practiceliving.com:
“The focus in
counseling is on awareness of heart, mind, body, and spirit. The focus is on
understanding, choices, and action. The focus is on transformation and on what
brings you joy, passion, directed energy, accomplishment and satisfaction in
your life and in your relationships with others.”
Dr. Andrew Shugyo Bonnici is 64, holds a Ph.D. in humanistic psychology, and
is a Buddhist priest, and Zen meditation master. Blending psychotherapies of
self-realization with the ancient wisdom of zazen meditation, Andrew works with
clients using a process called
Applied Meditation Therapy. He is also the director of the
Applied Meditation Psychology Institute which he founded in 1996.
According to Dr. Bonnici’s educational web site at
www.zendoctor.com:
“The
authentic body of meditation is deep intimacy with our true Self. This Self is
Universal & infinitely greater than our ego-self or thinking mind. It upholds
our passage in life & embraces us all in our journey of death. Shining in the
heart of simple human beings, It is called original faith, basic goodness, and
compassionate action. Being the core Oneness of our only moment bodies, It is
called peaceful being, vital wellness, self-integrity, & wisdoming mind.”
Married for 42 years, healthy, and living the good life, the Bonnicis live an
enviably healthy and connected life.
Okay, enough introduction, here’s Cindy’s interview with the Bonnicis.
Co-op:
You both talk about healing happening best when body, mind, heart, and spirit
are integrated. How do you help facilitate that healing and integration?
Diana:
The body holds so much wisdom; and when we can be present to our body’s subtle
messages, we can learn to connect what is going on in our body, in our thoughts,
and with our emotions. After all, the stories we tell ourselves influence how
we feel, and how we feel influences our bodies and health.
Andrew:
So true. An integrative approach looks at all the variables. Nutrition,
exercise, relationships, core beliefs, attitudes, intentions, arising thoughts,
emotions, and spiritual practice -- they all affect optimum levels of wellness,
joy, productivity and performance. People can be too cerebral and ignore the
body’s cues about being out of alignment physically, mentally, emotionally and
spiritually.
Co-op:
You both practice and use meditation with your clients. Do some people resist
meditation as a practice?
Andrew:
I
work with a lot of people around a variety of issues including
self-actualization, deepening relationships, higher consciousness, spiritual
growth, peak performance, visionary leadership, stress balancing and pain
management. Meditation is the practice of being in the moment. Meditation is
really about an illuminating, liberating, creative and compassionate way of
being our bodies and being in our bodies. It’s not a religious practice so much
as a spiritual practice or way of life, with over 5000 years of history in
helping people.
I
talk about very practical health indicators that meditation addresses, including
the autonomic nervous system, pulse, blood pressure, adrenaline release,
muscular tension, etc. Usually, people don’t have much control over these
involuntary body processes. However, when a person learns to deepen awareness of
breath, rest in their body core, and relax into each moment with more compassion
and clarity, the experiences of fragmentation, frustration, anger, pain,
confusion, and stress can change dramatically and often quite rapidly.
Diana:
We
can look at a specific example, observing what happens when a person gets angry.
The body tenses, the heart rate increases, the breath becomes shallow, stress
hormones are released, all of which have a negative effect on health when anger
is chronic. If you can catch an emotion like anger, you can have a choice in how
to respond.
Some clients aren’t ready for meditation per se, but I always start with
awareness exercises that lead to greater acceptance and understanding. Joy comes
with practice as we stop re-creating an unfortunate past or trying to escape to
a better future. Meditation is silent listening and awareness--whether in seated
form or as a part of daily life practice. Whatever the form, meditation is all
about being present in this moment.
Co-op:
Talk
to us about the difference between working toward so-called “normal” functioning
and aspiring to greater “human potential.”
Andrew:
I like to say that I’m
not as interested in a psychology of normality as I am in achieving and living
the further reaches of human potential. The starting point may be to relieve
stress, anxiety, panic, or pain, but clients start to realize that there’s more
to life than bringing ease and comfort to these conditions in daily functioning.
When we cultivate greater presence by resting in the wisdoming core of our “only
moment body,” we cultivate a greater compassion for both self and others,
recover vitality and passionate engagement with life, enjoy a quality of
sacredness in each moment, experience true peace and self-acceptance, and
realize that our daily lives and relationships have a deeper meaning, purpose
and direction.
Co-op:
Okay,
let’s turn to kids, one of your other favorite topics. Didn’t you run a day care
facility for years when you lived north of San Francisco?
Diana:
Yes, we did day care for 25 years and had 12 children in our home. We taught
them all sorts of things, including taking them on regular field trips. I was
always a teacher at heart. One of the biggest joys in my life, now, is living
close to my four grandchildren, two of whom are 3 years old, one is 5, and one
is 7, all such wonderful ages for grandparents.
Andrew:
We are so fortunate to
be close to our children and grandchildren. Our two sons both have private
practices and teach workshops with our Institute. Both daughter-in-laws, Amber
and Megan, are NIA (neuromuscular integrative action) teachers and teach
workshops also; so we are a family of healers.
Eric is an author and teacher of Unconditional Love®. He teaches and
shares the physical sensation of unconditional love common in all human
experience, creating a sense of unity and ease in life. His web site is
www.LiveUnconditionalLove.com.
Tony works with me to deliver workshops on peak performance with business
leaders and entrepreneurs. He works with athletes and teaches them to engage in
sports as an embodied form of meditation to achieve and sustain peak sport
performance. He also is a black belt judo sensei. His web site is
www.wholebodyway.com.
Co-op:
What do you attribute your own vibrant health to?
Andrew:
Diana and I have a
routine of waking up around 5 AM and doing formal seated meditation and then we
go back to bed to cuddle. At about 6:30 we walk a mile to get the newspaper or
walk on the beach and then do a short yoga workout before having breakfast
together. Diana does weight classes and NIA. I do a lot of gardening and
physical activity.
No
matter how good our independent practices are, after 42 years of marriage, we
can still get into unconscious moments of blame, judgment and reactivity. We
hold a commitment to a sacred space together that reminds us to be conscious
with each other and to appreciate each moment we have together.
We
eat healthily and take a few supplements regularly. I take saw palmetto for
prostate health and red rice yeast extract for lower cholesterol. Diana ensures
she boosts her calcium and magnesium intake.
Diana:
I’ve always been pretty healthy. A friend introduced me to the Co-op and I enjoy
products like Arthro 3, Eye Protection, and Grape Seed Extract as well.
Co-op:
Do you have any closing comments to share?
Andrew:
Our goal is to work with people to help them understand their life and to live
this “Only Moment” with joy, gratitude, love, faith and wisdom. We believe this
is done with body, mind, heart, and spirit integration. There is nowhere to go,
just be in this present moment, just as you are. We appreciate this time to
share our journey together.
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From this kat, I think Diana and Andrew are some of the “good guys” out there.
A warm thank you to them both for telling their story! ^..^
And, if you would like to reach out and connect with either or both of them,
here are their email addresses: Diana at
diana@practiceliving.com and Andrew at
drb@zendoctor.com.
So, if you like the sound of a mindfulness practice for your own health, we have
a truly special offer
for you (the idea Cindy broached in her blog last winter to have her dear
friend, Pamela Weiss, a leading Insight Meditation teacher offer a tele-series
for the Co-op).
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