Being Interconnected with Sam Tullman

In this month's Diabetes Made Visible, I sat down with Sam Tullman, one of the co-founders of Diabetes Sangha. Sam is a dedicated practitioner and advocate of meditation and has a unique perspective on diabetes management that intertwines mindfulness with daily health practices. His journey into meditation has early roots in his experiences in Shotokan Karate, where silent meditation was a part of every training session but flowered later during his years as a college football player at the University of Pennsylvania. This early exposure and his later academic work in Neuroscience and South Asian Studies planted the seeds for his deep interest in meditation and its philosophical underpinnings.

"The first thing we always want to do in meditation practice... is just settle our minds," Sam notes. This settling allows individuals to engage with their experiences more skillfully, reducing frustration and self-blame. But it's only the first step -- meditation, for Sam, is not just about calming the mind but also about developing a skillful approach to life's challenges.

?Sam shares that trying to handle life's challenges in healthier ways has been the real driving force of his meditation practice – this drive is the water that lets those early seeds grow. Sam shared how his struggles during his late middle school years and college led him to take refuge in spirituality and meditation. "I was having a really difficult time... and I really leaned into spirituality," he recalled. This drive catalyzed other significant changes in college, including becoming vegetarian, journaling, and reading vociferously. But above all, he describes finding a regular meditation practice as feeling like "coming back home."

These changes and experiences significantly influence Sam's approach to diabetes management. He is adamant that recognizing the interrelated nature of our lives can enhance diabetes management.

There are so many different factors that can influence our blood sugar... and not just our blood sugar, but also our thoughts and feelings, which, in turn, can indirectly impact blood sugar.

This holistic view helps individuals understand that their experiences and reactions are not entirely within their control but are somewhat influenced by many external factors. Rather than making somebody feel more hopeless, though, Sam suggests that recognizing the things we don't control (most things, according to him – including even our behavior) helps us be accountable for what we can control – how we orient towards our experiences. By judging our experiences, behaviors, and thoughts less, Sam says we paradoxically gain more influence over the outcomes we care about.

Sam shared with me that one of the critical facets of meditation is the understanding that life experiences just happen. What happens in our lives, he says, is a result of all sorts of prior conditions beyond what we know about or can keep track of – they're not the ultimate reflections of who we are as people. "Your life experience is not personal... your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences, they're not actually personal," he emphasized. He gives the example of your partner having a bad day at work because their boss was mean to them.

They (your partner) come home and argue with you because they’re upset for other reasons, and now as a result you’re not sleeping well. The next day, because of not sleeping, your blood sugars are a mess and you naturally make less healthy food choices. What part about that story indicates that it’s your fault that your blood sugars have been off, and that you feel bad?

People with Diabetes who view outcomes through this lens can care for themselves with less self-blame and more compassion.

Sam uses the analogy of a sailboat to explain skillfully navigating life's challenges, including Diabetes: "You can't control the direction of the wind blowing... but you can control the boat, the rig, and decide how to orient to the fact that the wind is like this," he said. "The only thing that I can influence is how I steer my life in this moment," he said.?

These philosophies on meditation and diabetes management provide valuable lessons in mindfulness, compassion, and skillful living. Sam's journey and insights remind us that while we may not control all aspects of our lives, we can always choose how to respond.