Louisa Gluck LMFT

Patty Duke Thanks The Jon S. Randal Peace Page "For many years, no one knew the anguish she was in, or how much she suffered. ... Anna was born on December 14, 1946. Her mother suffered from a mental illness, clinical and chronic depression, and forced her father, who was an alcoholic, to leave the family home when Anna Marie was 6-years-old. She "was dealing increasingly with a real-life emotional liability for which she had no name," according to the New York Times, saying herself, "I knew from a very young age that there was something very wrong with me." At the age of 8, she was literally given up by her mother to talent managers, who would exploit the young girl, telling her "Anna Marie is dead; you're Patty now." Patty Duke would grow up in the public eye as a child star. At the age of 12, she found fame as Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" in both Broadway and the film adaption, becoming the youngest actor at the time to win an Academy Award. When she received an Emmy award for best actress in 1970, she was the subject of gossip magazines for her behavior on stage, with people saying she was either drunk or on drugs. But, no one really knew her pain or suffering. Some were minor incidents, such as walking into a store "where they're playing Christmas carols and get a little teary," she would explain. "Winter is hard for me . . . I certainly become melancholy." Then, there would be stories of her, hiding under the covers of her bed for days or weeks at a time. She would smash and throw things, screaming obscenities, even throwing herself out of cars. "She attempted suicide several times, and was committed to mental hospitals," according to the New York Times. Finally, in 1982, at the age of 35, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After she finally discovered what was wrong with her, she did not go into hiding or deny she had an illness. Patty Duke instead faced her manic depression head on, becoming the first major celebrity to admit such a diagnosis, and contributing to de-stigmatizing bipolar disorder. She recounted her experiences in a memoir, A Brilliant Madness: Living With Manic-Depressive Illness. Her hope was that more people would seek help, medication, rather than suicide. She admitted that her own suicide attempts were cries for help, and she wanted to help others get that help. She said, "I can't even remember how many times I tried to kill myself." "I am going to enlist every citizen I can to reach out to their representative in Congress and say, 'we're not kidding anymore,'" she said. Her hope was that more awareness and funding would lead to more psychiatrists, more research and an end to the stigma. She became an activist for numerous mental health causes, lobbying Congress and joining forces with the National Institute of Mental Health and National Alliance on Mental Illness to increase awareness, funding, and research for people with mental illness. "This kind of illuminating and compassionate work became the sacred mission of her life. She became a voice for the voiceless and a reassuring presence for the scared, the intimidated and the lost. She was a healer of many souls and a champion for so many in need," according to her son, Sean Astin, for the Patty Duke Mental Health Project. She said, "If I have any message for others, it is to go for help early and not to be a resistant patient." Astin said his mother is remembered for her movie and television roles and for her fight "for civil rights, gay rights and the rights of working actors to name just a few (even receiving The Eleanor Roosevelt Award for women's rights)'," but her "greatest achievement was confronting her mental illness and making her story public. She crossed the Nation speaking and campaigning and lobbying for mental health. My mom took her place as a mental health advocate in the greatest tradition of noble leadership." "The way that I think of my mother, the thing that gives me such joy and reverence for her," Astin said "is that, above all else, she was a warrior." Washington Post article https://www.washingtonpost.com//patty-duke-the-original-s/ Photo of Patty with the real Helen Keller.

Dear my students, friends, and family, Just sharing a very simple way to feel your being. Sit down or stand up calmly! Be aware surroundings! Take few big slow ...breaths! Close your eyes! Check thoroughly inside of yourself! From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet! Focus on your incoming and outgoing breath each time! Be aware what is coming to your feelings and mind! Nothing is wrong! Just feel what is coming to you. And I chant (KOTODAMA) to connect what I want to connect. Starting a great day!!! I hope you will try it! And have a great day! Love, Gratitude, and Respect

Chögyam Trungpa ~ Intense Freedom Meditation is intense, because the practice is demanding, and your commitment to the sitting practice of meditation day after ...day is very demanding. At the same time, the practice of meditation is very light, because you have nothing to do, and nothing to accomplish when you practice. So intense lightness or intense freedom is the meaning of meditation. Excerpted from: Excerpted from: Why We Meditate, in The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa, Volume 10, by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, page 662