Talk by Dr Lee Su Lan on 25 Nov 2016 at Peach Tree Orchid Studio

Our inaugural AutumnLife event on a rainy weekday afternoon was a cosy, informal affair. About a dozen AutumnLife members gathered at Dr Lee Su Lan's homely and pleasant workspace. 

Dr Lee's talk on the need to care for our body, mind and spirit was both heartfelt advice to all present, as well as a testimony of her own journey towards total health. She wanted us to understand that our thoughts and feelings make a difference to our health. What we think, how we feel and what we do are all related.

"Everything is energy. Your thought begins it. Your emotions amplify it, and your actions increase the momentum," she said.

Hence we would need to find ways to deal with our fears, as well as sources of stress. These would include, as can be expected, social isolation, "selling your soul for a paycheck" and money woes.  Also included is "knowing you have a song to be sung that's not been sung", and even pretending to be someone you are not.  

"Good health is actually a balance - a tag team effort between your body and your soul," says Dr Lee.

Dr Lee's approach to whole health care hence embraces elements such as love, service, creativity, relationships, work/life purpose and gratitude. One memorable tip is to "fill yourself with love and gratitude, and cleanse yourself of sadness".

It was refreshing too to hear a medical doctor tell us that medicine is not simply what a doctor prescribes to us. To Dr Lee, medicine is also speaking your truth, communing with nature, nourishing the body with real food, and being "unapologetically you". At the same time, she reminded us to listen to what our body tells us.

The talk ended with a refreshing treat. We had a tasting of the water kefir fermented by Dr Lee, after she taught us how to make it ourselves. We also enjoyed a less healthy tea-time snack - irresistible cream puffs!