Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Miriam E. Cameron. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dr. Cameron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
In 1997, when I was a postdoctoral fellow in nursing and bioethics at the University of Minnesota, my husband Michael Ormond and I traveled to Tibet. The Himalayas were spectacular and challenging! While visiting Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical Institute in Lhasa, I met Tibetan medicine doctors who explained Tibetan Healing. They said that the purpose of life is to be happy and that well-being is a lifelong process of living in harmony with self, others, and our planet. I was eager to learn more about this profound understanding of mind and body.
Later, our Tibetan guide, Karma, led us up a steep, rocky path to a small nunnery. Mike and I sat in the courtyard, hearts pounding, suffering from altitude sickness, breathing deeply in the thin air. A little elderly nun came over to me and took my hand. In her healing presence, I experienced Samadhi (bliss). I felt healed physically, mentally, spiritually. As a registered nurse, I was aware of suffering. I visualized being a bridge to take Tibetan Healing back to the U of MN. Tibetan whole-person health can heal suffering, create happiness, and promote compassionate treatment of individuals, communities, and our planet.
Back at the University of Minnesota, I joined the Graduate Faculty of the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing in the School of Nursing. With support from colleagues, I founded and directed the Tibetan Healing Initiative (THI) and the Yoga Program. I taught academic courses, conducted research, gave presentations, served as a community resource, and published books, journal articles, book chapters, and columns. Besides the U of MN, I spoke at academic institutions in various parts of the U.S., as well as in Tibet, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, and other locations. All this life-transforming work goes back to my amazing meetings with Tibetan medicine doctors and the Tibetan nun in Tibet.
Dr. Cameron, we love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Health has always fascinated me. Even though I had no money and was the first female in my family to go to college, I was awarded funding to earn my BS and MS in Nursing, MA in Philosophy/Bioethics, and Ph.D. in Nursing/Bioethics at the University of Minnesota (U of MN). In addition, I did NIH-funded postdoctoral work in Nursing and Cross-Cultural Ethics at several American universities.
In 1997, I visited Tibet and experienced the healing power of Tibetan Healing. My goal became to serve as a Tibetan Healing Bridge between Tibet and the U of MN. I accepted a position as Graduate Faculty at the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality, & Healing, School of Nursing, U of MN. Collaborating with colleagues, I created and directed the Tibetan Healing Initiative (THI).
I published my third book, “Karma & Happiness: A Tibetan Odyssey in Ethics, Spirituality, & Healing,” about my trip to Tibet and Tibetan Healing. His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote the foreword. The book served as the textbook for a graduate course I developed and taught: “Tibetan Medicine: Ethics, Spirituality, & Healing.” I developed and taught a sister graduate course: “Yoga: Ethics, Spirituality, & Healing.”
Those two courses are the basis of a third graduate course I developed and taught: “Tibetan Medicine, Ayurveda, & Yoga in India.” During this course, University students study at Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical Institute in Dharamsala, India. Dharamsala is where His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and a large Tibetan refugee community live in the foothills of the spectacular Himalayas. His Holiness has met with me and many of our student groups in Dharamsala.
Also, I developed and taught a fourth graduate course: “Yoga & Ayurveda in India.” These students study at an Ashram near Rishikesh, India. Thousands of students have taken these four life-transforming courses. The courses are open to juniors, seniors, graduate students, and members of the of the community with these academic qualifications.
Colleagues and I collaborated with the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) and other Tibetan organizations to host two visits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the U of MN. My funded research team tested, refined, and published the “Constitutional Self-Assessment Tool” (CSAT) and “Lifestyle Guidelines Tool” (LGT) based on Tibetan Healing. These research-based tools are used around the world. Tenzin Namdul, PhD, Tibetan Medicine Practitioner, and I published my fourth book: “Tibetan-Medicine & You: A Path to Well-being, Better Health, & Joy,” with a blessing by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Recently, I retired from the Graduate Faculty and now serve as a Senior Fellow at the Bakken Center. My husband, Michael Ormond, and I are donating our life savings to help the Tibetan Healing Initiative (THI) flourish. We are thrilled that Dr. Tenzin Namdul is now the THI Director. My heart is full of joy that my 1997 vision of serving as a Tibetan Healing Bridge has come true.
With help from our worldwide THI community, Dr. Namdul and the Bakken Center will continue the transformative work of Tibetan Healing. As Tibetans say, “May THI benefit all beings!”
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
NO! I am grateful to be a registered nurse with a PhD in Nursing and Bioethics. Also, I’m grateful to have expertise about Tibetan Healing, Yoga, integrative care, and whole person health. This evolving wisdom teaches me how create a healthy, happy life and to do my part to heal suffering in the world. My students are carrying on these teachings. I’m enjoying the harvest of my life.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I believe strongly in this work and try to “walk the talk.” The second largest Tibetan immigrant community in the U.S. lives in Minnesota. I work closely with Tibetans and learn from them. They connect me with Tibetans around the world and I collaborate with them.
At the University of Minnesota, the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing and the School of Nursing, my Alma Mater, have supported this work from the beginning. Thanks to each of my colleagues.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://csh.umn.edu/bio/center-for-spirituality-and-he/miriam-cameron
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miriam.e.cameron/?locale=sw_KE&paipv=0&eav=Afba2K9YAssHmDLysVMqFMza-rvRI-JJFmaJ_IkNXETI8D_hDDsQw22B5jBel9iwY7U&_rdr;
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-cameron-9437a937/;
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9psWZs0VLk.
- Other: Tibetan Healing Initiative (THI): https://csh.umn.edu/academics/focus-areas/tibetan-healing-initiative
Complete the CSAT and LGT: https://csh.umn.edu/academics/focus-areas/tibetan-healing-initiative/learn-about-your-constitution
Image Credits
I own each photo.