Doctor of Chiropractic is written DC and it means Doctor of Cause. That distinction is important in a world where most decisions are made by treating symptoms. The assumption is erroneous that by suppressing symptoms the body will be healthier. What we call symptoms - runny noses, sneezing, headaches, muscle aches, etc. - are intelligent responses by the body to rid itself of an offending substance. The body never makes mistakes. Never. If perfection exists in this Universe then I suggest the human body as a perfect example.
Being a Doctor of Cause means that a Chiropractor is a healer. Healing is not about covering something up, or kicking the can down the road to deal with it later. Its all about doing the right thing, the difficult thing, to correct the underlying problem. That is healing. Its getting to the root cause of the problem no matter how difficult or frightening that might be.
Our culture is in crisis on many levels, esp. financially where we are collectively kicking the can down the road for the next group of people to bail us out or or deal with our debt. The analogy to the human body is pertinent. By going into debt, borrowing beyond our means, encouraging consumption, we have created a swath of financial and moral cancer that is slowly killing the patient - our economy. The debt and materialism are consuming our resources like a metastatic tumor, taking wealth without producing more in its place. Treating the cause of the problem - too much debt, not enough savings - requires touch decisions, personal sacrifice, careful planning and discipline.
Its the same with our human bodies. People want to have a quick fix. A magic pill. The fantasy that a lifetime of wrong decisions can be rectified without any personal effort, growth, or sacrifice is a powerful one - just look at the strong sales of pharmaceutical drugs. The trouble is that a drug without side-effects is no drug at all. Hundreds of millions of people are taking powerful, dangerous drugs for conditions that could be treated with holistic, natural, and safe health care. We are collectively very sick because everything is out of balance in our lives. The great lie is that only Medicine can cure what ails you, and since Medicine is another way of saying drugs and surgery, then that's all you are going to get! With few exceptions, an MD today is mostly just a drug-doctor. That's the only tool they have. Its effective in life-threatening situations, but entirely counter-productive and outright devastating 95% of the time when the root cause of the problem is simply glossed over by taking drugs that mask symptoms.
Listen, I was raised to believe that we are the greatest country on Earth. If that is true then why are we the sickest first-world nation in the world? Something doesn't compute. The issue is not whether or not we know how to fix our problems of disease in America. The issue is are we willing? Sadly there is so much money to be made in the unnecessary suffering of human beings that the task of getting healthy lies squarely on the shoulders of individuals. It will not come from the top down so the issue then is one of individuals choosing the right path, the life that resonates with their spirit - the path of healing.
Chiropractic is the greatest profession of healing ever gifted to mankind. Chiropractors are educated at the same level of scientific understanding and technical knowledge as medical doctors. Philosophy is the difference between those that treat symptoms and those that treat causes. Chiropractic philosophy is based on the premise that the world is inherently a spiritual world manifest in the physical realm. Modern science confirms what Chiropractic has said for a long time - that the mind controls matter. Read Bruce Lipton for more information on that topic.
There is no better healing profession than one where doctors are trained to understand and treat the cause of disease. These are healers. They are unique and powerful persons who are licensed by the law of the land to physically touch another human. The greatness of chiropractic comes from the skills of the hands. Touch is an act of power and should be regarded with utmost respect. A skilled chiropractor will understand the language of medicine and science and apply the latest advances in clinical nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, rehabilitation, neurology, etc. to create health from the inside out. This is the difference between being a Healer and a mechanic.
If you think that the human body is simply a machine, destined to perform preprogrammed functions over and over until the end, then you won't need a healer, you'll need a mechanic. It doesn't matter if you treat the machine like crap for 20 years, you'll just swap out parts as they wear out. This is the attitude people have with their bodies. Just keep abusing it until something needs to be replaced. These same people will be taking better care of their 20 thousand dollar cars that they can go and replace once they wear it out than they will of their own body. We only have a single body, one, and its ours to take care of!
What makes Chiropractic great is that there are no drugs or surgeries involved in getting patients well. Its about changing your life. Health is a reward for correct decisions. By touching patients with their hands chiropractors communicate to the patient on a level few other practitioners ever will. Imagine how powerful a doctor would be if this person knew the skills of the naturopath, the science and biochemistry of the medical doctor, and then combined everything with vast knowledge of caring for the human structure. That is a potent combination that can handle everything life throws at us, save those rare emergencies where medical attention at hospitals is absolutely necessary. Using the principals of treating subluxations, of using nutrition, and of educating patients on being healthy, Chiropractors represent the future of healing. The future of healing is bright for those with the courage and open mind to work with a chiropractor on finding the root cause of disease. Remember, DC means Doctor of Cause.
Showing posts with label Chiropractic philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chiropractic philosophy. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Subluxation Complex Part I
The chiropractic profession lives a stormy life. It's claims are proud and strong - that by adjusting the spine health can be restored to the body. Despite being around for over 100 years, chiropractic is still very misunderstood by the majority of people the world over. This blog is dedicated to teaching the world about Health, and thus about the role chiropractic plays in establishing and maintaining healthy vitality throughout our years. It is this author's conviction that only through patient education can chiropractic grow towards its rightful place as a foundational therapeutic aspect of all our lives. This piece is dedicated to the teaching effort.
Chiropractic exists as profession both at the cutting edge of holistic treatment and at the center of controversy. There are those who say it is just a bunch of quackery. However, the fact that chiropractic endures today, without mainstream sponsorship and subsidization is a testament to the effectiveness and importance of adjustive therapy. The free market has carried chiropractic along from its inception to where we are today. The free market is the ultimate test of any product or service. It represents the combined decisions of millions of people over a long time period. We are here today because chiropractic works. Now it is question of communication and education of why it works, and why it is necessary for long term health.
Chiropractors treat the subluxation. It is a complex phenomenon, and one that unfortunately does not yield to simple definition. It is better to consider the subluxation an energetic phenomenon with distinct physical manifestations. Those familiar with this idea will use terms like "sticky" joint, dysfunctional motion segment, restricted motion, tissue abnormalities, etc. to describe their physical palpation findings. We are speaking strictly of joints, for those who are not familiar with this idea. More specifically, the subluxation is when spinal vertebra (or other joints like the elbow or ankle) become dysfunctional and cause system wide adaptation patterns as the body is forced to make changes to survive.
At this point it is important to emphasize several critical concepts that will be necessary for understanding health and chiropractic.
1) The Body Never Makes Mistakes
It is a fact that every action taken by the body is to survive by maintaining homeostasis. Loss of homeostasis means loss of life - its that simple. Every cough, sore throat, allergy, and yes even cancer is an adaptation forced upon the body by some kind of stress (see below). It is hard to believe that the person dying from cancer still has a body making correct decisions, but it is true. When we sneeze, or get a cold, or get a disease, the body is attempting to deal with something that is threatening its survival. The common cold is natures way of getting rid of trash accumulated inside our bodies.
Have you ever realized that a cough, runny nose, and fever all act to remove or destroy microbes inside us? The body raises its temperature to destroy pathogens, then the cough and runny nose, or diarrhea, serve to excrete the toxins effectively. But what are we told by medicine? That these symptoms should be suppressed! How insane is it to think that by stopping the body's natural process of getting ride of trash that somehow we are healthier for it? Remember this always - the body doesn't make mistakes. Those who understand health will support the body's innate intelligence, which is far superior to any doctor, and allow the body to cleanse itself naturally. We can support this excretion/detoxification naturally by stimulating and supporting organs like the kidney, liver, and lymph tissues with chiropactic adjustments and targeted nutritional support.
2) Treating Symptoms Will Never Cure nor Prevent a Single Disease
What passes for healthcare in America is really no different than a teenager who cleans his room by throwing all his junk inside his closet. His room looks clean from the outside, it even feels clean, but just under the surface all the trash is piling up. But hey out of sight, out of mind! The pharmaceutical industry makes ridiculous profits selling us proprietary products (read unnatural) designed to suppress symptoms. The fatal flaw, the source of rampant disease in America, is the widespread use of this symptom-suppression model.
The real price we pay for suppression of symptoms, while never addressing the underlying cause of disease, is that our bodies accumulate toxins and begin to toxify, inflame, and breakdown. Continued suppression of symptoms, which are the body's perfectly intelligent responses to rid itself of disease-causing agents, forces the toxins to go deeper into our bodies. If the body cannot excrete/detoxify itself it is forced to fight the toxins locally. This is inflammation. Inflammation is like wagging a war. Unfortunately for us, like all wars there is collateral damage. And as the body slowly builds up with toxic matter, the body is forced to deal with it by fighting in its own backyard. Think about what war does to picturesque towns when bombs are dropped from above and tanks role through the streets. The same thing happens to our own tissues at a microscopic level. Over time this leads to diseases that are far more serious than just a common cold.
Most every culture on earth utilizes some form of detoxification to aid the body's natural mechanisms. Whether we are dealing with sweats, saunas, mineral waters, clays, etc. each is designed to draw out toxins which helps to lessen the energetic burden on the body. American culture today is arguably the most toxic in human history. Simultaneously we are living without widespread detoxification methods being practiced. This is a major contributor to our epidemic rates disease.
3) Stress is the Ultimate Cause of Disease
While this may seem oversimplified, it is in fact an excellent model for conceptualizing what is going on in the body to produce disease. It is hard to believe that the body doesn't make mistakes, yet we are are collectively a very sick society! Something must explain this discrepancy and stress is the concept that is able to connect the dots into a cohesive whole of wellness understanding.
D.D. Palmer, the founding father of chiropractic, understood that disease was a result of three main ideas: trauma, poisons and auto-suggestion. We can refer to these as physical, chemical (toxic), and emotional stress. This is a common concept in applied kinesiology where patients are treated in regards to the triad of health - structural, chemical, and emotional stress. D.D. Palmer recognized that disease has more than one origin, but the effect is still stress on the system. This stress creates dis-ease in our body by using up and consuming the fuel, or energy, necessary for maintaining homeostasis.
Consider that while energy in the universe is infinite, each one of us has a bucket and that bucket represents our energy account. Our body has a finite amount of energy and must live within its means and budget accordingly (which it does superbly). When we are on a stress-free vacation, enjoying life, feeling great our bucket is leak-free and full. This abundance of energy is perfectly spent by the body on maintaining a "tight ship" and keeping all systems robust, clean, and maintained. We experience low stress and the body spends its energy currency on growth and repair - and we feel great!
Yet for most of us, the majority of our lives are more stressful than we would like. It is the nature of our world today and must be dealt with proactively. That bucket that was full while we were on our care-free vacation now has a leak. Actually it has several leaks. Instead of putting its energy income into savings, for future enjoyment i.e. Health, the body is forced to adapt to the stress by spending energy fixing holes in the bucket. The more stress, the more holes, the more energy spent. This is all fine and dandy as long as the energy coming in is greater than the energy going out. People will have colds, maybe the flu, allergies, and mild symptoms of all kinds in this phase of dis-ease. The body can manage the stress, but at the expense of the immune system working top notch. Unfortunately for us, the immune system is the first thing to weaken when we start to experience stress. It is difficult to guard against outside invaders when there is chaos inside the castle walls.
A critical point is reached when the body is forced to dip into its energy savings to take care of all the energy requirements of dealing with stress. Remember stress is structural, chemical, and emotional so the body is working on many fronts simultaneously. Before this critical point, income was greater than expenses. And just like any business enterprise, when the body must dip into savings to continue to operate, it is operating at a loss. This is an unsustainable course.
As the body dips into energy-savings, it is forced to breakdown less-critical tissue in order to maintain homeostasis. As stress increases, holes in the bucket multiply, and the body must begin to use energy, vitamins and minerals stored in the body to keep up with demands. As the expenses for dealing with stress grow uncontrollably, the body breaks down its own tissue in order to stay alive. The body is still acting correctly, it is just in such a difficult environment it has no choice but to shift into catabolism or tissue breakdown. If calcium is needed to fix the holes in the bucket then osteoporosis results as calcium is taken from bone, where it is stored long term. If cholesterol is needed to reduce oxidation, then hormones are reduced because cell repair is more important than a good sex drive. Continual stress on the body will cause disease as there is no other choice but for the body to start to break itself down to stay alive.
To Be Continued...
Chiropractic exists as profession both at the cutting edge of holistic treatment and at the center of controversy. There are those who say it is just a bunch of quackery. However, the fact that chiropractic endures today, without mainstream sponsorship and subsidization is a testament to the effectiveness and importance of adjustive therapy. The free market has carried chiropractic along from its inception to where we are today. The free market is the ultimate test of any product or service. It represents the combined decisions of millions of people over a long time period. We are here today because chiropractic works. Now it is question of communication and education of why it works, and why it is necessary for long term health.
Chiropractors treat the subluxation. It is a complex phenomenon, and one that unfortunately does not yield to simple definition. It is better to consider the subluxation an energetic phenomenon with distinct physical manifestations. Those familiar with this idea will use terms like "sticky" joint, dysfunctional motion segment, restricted motion, tissue abnormalities, etc. to describe their physical palpation findings. We are speaking strictly of joints, for those who are not familiar with this idea. More specifically, the subluxation is when spinal vertebra (or other joints like the elbow or ankle) become dysfunctional and cause system wide adaptation patterns as the body is forced to make changes to survive.
At this point it is important to emphasize several critical concepts that will be necessary for understanding health and chiropractic.
1) The Body Never Makes Mistakes
It is a fact that every action taken by the body is to survive by maintaining homeostasis. Loss of homeostasis means loss of life - its that simple. Every cough, sore throat, allergy, and yes even cancer is an adaptation forced upon the body by some kind of stress (see below). It is hard to believe that the person dying from cancer still has a body making correct decisions, but it is true. When we sneeze, or get a cold, or get a disease, the body is attempting to deal with something that is threatening its survival. The common cold is natures way of getting rid of trash accumulated inside our bodies.
Have you ever realized that a cough, runny nose, and fever all act to remove or destroy microbes inside us? The body raises its temperature to destroy pathogens, then the cough and runny nose, or diarrhea, serve to excrete the toxins effectively. But what are we told by medicine? That these symptoms should be suppressed! How insane is it to think that by stopping the body's natural process of getting ride of trash that somehow we are healthier for it? Remember this always - the body doesn't make mistakes. Those who understand health will support the body's innate intelligence, which is far superior to any doctor, and allow the body to cleanse itself naturally. We can support this excretion/detoxification naturally by stimulating and supporting organs like the kidney, liver, and lymph tissues with chiropactic adjustments and targeted nutritional support.
2) Treating Symptoms Will Never Cure nor Prevent a Single Disease
What passes for healthcare in America is really no different than a teenager who cleans his room by throwing all his junk inside his closet. His room looks clean from the outside, it even feels clean, but just under the surface all the trash is piling up. But hey out of sight, out of mind! The pharmaceutical industry makes ridiculous profits selling us proprietary products (read unnatural) designed to suppress symptoms. The fatal flaw, the source of rampant disease in America, is the widespread use of this symptom-suppression model.
The real price we pay for suppression of symptoms, while never addressing the underlying cause of disease, is that our bodies accumulate toxins and begin to toxify, inflame, and breakdown. Continued suppression of symptoms, which are the body's perfectly intelligent responses to rid itself of disease-causing agents, forces the toxins to go deeper into our bodies. If the body cannot excrete/detoxify itself it is forced to fight the toxins locally. This is inflammation. Inflammation is like wagging a war. Unfortunately for us, like all wars there is collateral damage. And as the body slowly builds up with toxic matter, the body is forced to deal with it by fighting in its own backyard. Think about what war does to picturesque towns when bombs are dropped from above and tanks role through the streets. The same thing happens to our own tissues at a microscopic level. Over time this leads to diseases that are far more serious than just a common cold.
Most every culture on earth utilizes some form of detoxification to aid the body's natural mechanisms. Whether we are dealing with sweats, saunas, mineral waters, clays, etc. each is designed to draw out toxins which helps to lessen the energetic burden on the body. American culture today is arguably the most toxic in human history. Simultaneously we are living without widespread detoxification methods being practiced. This is a major contributor to our epidemic rates disease.
3) Stress is the Ultimate Cause of Disease
While this may seem oversimplified, it is in fact an excellent model for conceptualizing what is going on in the body to produce disease. It is hard to believe that the body doesn't make mistakes, yet we are are collectively a very sick society! Something must explain this discrepancy and stress is the concept that is able to connect the dots into a cohesive whole of wellness understanding.
D.D. Palmer, the founding father of chiropractic, understood that disease was a result of three main ideas: trauma, poisons and auto-suggestion. We can refer to these as physical, chemical (toxic), and emotional stress. This is a common concept in applied kinesiology where patients are treated in regards to the triad of health - structural, chemical, and emotional stress. D.D. Palmer recognized that disease has more than one origin, but the effect is still stress on the system. This stress creates dis-ease in our body by using up and consuming the fuel, or energy, necessary for maintaining homeostasis.
Consider that while energy in the universe is infinite, each one of us has a bucket and that bucket represents our energy account. Our body has a finite amount of energy and must live within its means and budget accordingly (which it does superbly). When we are on a stress-free vacation, enjoying life, feeling great our bucket is leak-free and full. This abundance of energy is perfectly spent by the body on maintaining a "tight ship" and keeping all systems robust, clean, and maintained. We experience low stress and the body spends its energy currency on growth and repair - and we feel great!
Yet for most of us, the majority of our lives are more stressful than we would like. It is the nature of our world today and must be dealt with proactively. That bucket that was full while we were on our care-free vacation now has a leak. Actually it has several leaks. Instead of putting its energy income into savings, for future enjoyment i.e. Health, the body is forced to adapt to the stress by spending energy fixing holes in the bucket. The more stress, the more holes, the more energy spent. This is all fine and dandy as long as the energy coming in is greater than the energy going out. People will have colds, maybe the flu, allergies, and mild symptoms of all kinds in this phase of dis-ease. The body can manage the stress, but at the expense of the immune system working top notch. Unfortunately for us, the immune system is the first thing to weaken when we start to experience stress. It is difficult to guard against outside invaders when there is chaos inside the castle walls.
A critical point is reached when the body is forced to dip into its energy savings to take care of all the energy requirements of dealing with stress. Remember stress is structural, chemical, and emotional so the body is working on many fronts simultaneously. Before this critical point, income was greater than expenses. And just like any business enterprise, when the body must dip into savings to continue to operate, it is operating at a loss. This is an unsustainable course.
As the body dips into energy-savings, it is forced to breakdown less-critical tissue in order to maintain homeostasis. As stress increases, holes in the bucket multiply, and the body must begin to use energy, vitamins and minerals stored in the body to keep up with demands. As the expenses for dealing with stress grow uncontrollably, the body breaks down its own tissue in order to stay alive. The body is still acting correctly, it is just in such a difficult environment it has no choice but to shift into catabolism or tissue breakdown. If calcium is needed to fix the holes in the bucket then osteoporosis results as calcium is taken from bone, where it is stored long term. If cholesterol is needed to reduce oxidation, then hormones are reduced because cell repair is more important than a good sex drive. Continual stress on the body will cause disease as there is no other choice but for the body to start to break itself down to stay alive.
To Be Continued...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Why Chiropractic?
This is a fundamental question. And I am not the first person to have asked. There are many chiropractors who have blazed this trail before. But from the perspective of a student, following the signs where ever they lead, it seems like an important exercise to get some fundamental concepts straight. It is an incomplete list, but nonetheless it conveys the essence of what it is we are all about.
Why Chiropractic?
Because......
1) the nervous system controls the body.
2) nerves must be balanced/healthy to correctly carry out important functions
3) the body heals itself, when properly maintained and corrected
4) the skull and spine are the most complex and critical bony structures in the body
5) our brain also lives inside our spine, irregularities and subluxations interfere with nervous system function
6) chiropractic care is preventative care, designed to keep the body "tuned" much like an automobile
7) investing money today in prevention will save large amounts down the road ("an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Benjamin Franklin)
8) health isn't free, but it is a lot cheaper than disease
In the end chiropractic is all about LIFE, quality and quantity of LIFE. We study LIFE to learn how to better live it. We study HEALTH to learn how to better create it. We study LOVE to learn how to better give it. We study WEALTH to learn how to better grow it. All of this is self-evident, logical, rational, based on science (asking questions and observing), and firmly grounded in reality. It is what being HOLISTIC is all about.
Chiropractic is all about focusing on what you want more of - LIFE and HEALTH - while avoiding things you want less off - DEATH and DISEASE. Yet despite the self-evident truths above, many in the establishment have yet to embrace the truth that focusing on something will inevitably bring about more of that same thing.
We still invest massive sums of research dollars into studying disease, thinking erroneously that such efforts will yield magical results that can alleviate the chronic diseases that are literally plaguing our society. Would it make sense to study poor, gambling-addicted citizens who have wasted all their resources if we are trying to learn about saving and growing our wealth? What good will it do us to understand mechanistically how all kinds of diseases happen while ignoring how to create health and vitality? We do not want more disease. Yet by focusing on disease and ignoring health, we are getting tons and tons of disease in return.
The Universe works on the principal of electro-magnetism, aka the law of attraction. Basically it should be obvious to everyone that the more we focus on something, the more we will get of that thing. For example, if we go around feeling like we "want" things, the signal we are sending out is that "we don't have enough". Sure enough, the universe oblidges us and will give us situations were we don't have enough. It may not be true in the fullest sense of the word, but our perception of the world will have imprinted the "wanting" feeling which inevitably leads us to live a life of "not enough, not ever enough". You can imagine people who live this way. If they don't have enough, don't expect them to share!
If we expect to get out of our current crisis then my money is on the holistic, vitalistic, quantum energy based healing sciences. Medicine has to shrink....way down. It must be reserved for emergencies, where it is most effective. For most of us we won't need it. Instead we will pay for a service from a chiropractor or other holistic healer who will teach us how to be healthy, grow healthy, and stay healthy.
Why Chiropractic?
Because......
1) the nervous system controls the body.
2) nerves must be balanced/healthy to correctly carry out important functions
3) the body heals itself, when properly maintained and corrected
4) the skull and spine are the most complex and critical bony structures in the body
5) our brain also lives inside our spine, irregularities and subluxations interfere with nervous system function
6) chiropractic care is preventative care, designed to keep the body "tuned" much like an automobile
7) investing money today in prevention will save large amounts down the road ("an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Benjamin Franklin)
8) health isn't free, but it is a lot cheaper than disease
In the end chiropractic is all about LIFE, quality and quantity of LIFE. We study LIFE to learn how to better live it. We study HEALTH to learn how to better create it. We study LOVE to learn how to better give it. We study WEALTH to learn how to better grow it. All of this is self-evident, logical, rational, based on science (asking questions and observing), and firmly grounded in reality. It is what being HOLISTIC is all about.
Chiropractic is all about focusing on what you want more of - LIFE and HEALTH - while avoiding things you want less off - DEATH and DISEASE. Yet despite the self-evident truths above, many in the establishment have yet to embrace the truth that focusing on something will inevitably bring about more of that same thing.
We still invest massive sums of research dollars into studying disease, thinking erroneously that such efforts will yield magical results that can alleviate the chronic diseases that are literally plaguing our society. Would it make sense to study poor, gambling-addicted citizens who have wasted all their resources if we are trying to learn about saving and growing our wealth? What good will it do us to understand mechanistically how all kinds of diseases happen while ignoring how to create health and vitality? We do not want more disease. Yet by focusing on disease and ignoring health, we are getting tons and tons of disease in return.
The Universe works on the principal of electro-magnetism, aka the law of attraction. Basically it should be obvious to everyone that the more we focus on something, the more we will get of that thing. For example, if we go around feeling like we "want" things, the signal we are sending out is that "we don't have enough". Sure enough, the universe oblidges us and will give us situations were we don't have enough. It may not be true in the fullest sense of the word, but our perception of the world will have imprinted the "wanting" feeling which inevitably leads us to live a life of "not enough, not ever enough". You can imagine people who live this way. If they don't have enough, don't expect them to share!
If we expect to get out of our current crisis then my money is on the holistic, vitalistic, quantum energy based healing sciences. Medicine has to shrink....way down. It must be reserved for emergencies, where it is most effective. For most of us we won't need it. Instead we will pay for a service from a chiropractor or other holistic healer who will teach us how to be healthy, grow healthy, and stay healthy.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Staying Centered
Its been a busy, busy summer. But now that midterms are behind us (we had two more exams before 10:00 am today) there might just be a little more room for some commentary...
Staying centered is crucial. From the center, all things are possible and all information is equally within reach. It is here, in the center, that athletes break records, that musicians record masterpieces, and that philosophers uncover a new way to look at the world. The center is akin to the singularity that all great religions seek - some have called it peace, love, zen, happiness, etc.
In the center there is unity - oneness. Struggle doesn't exist on its own. Neither does pain, or hate, or even death. All these negative, death-energy concepts rely on a splitting and dividing. All things are connected in the center, and when we are consciously present there, we too benefit by sensing the connections all around us.
In order to heal others its important to realize many people, structurally, chemically, and emotionally, are way off center, lacking balance. Its important for those doing the healing to know where the center is and how to get there. If they are successful in placing their self into a grounded, open-minded, and empathetic posture, then they will have access to intuition and insight that will greatly benefit the healing process.
While talk is cheap and its easy to point to where one wants to go, taking the steps to get there will challenge everyone who dares. The point is that we will all be challenged. Those who challenge themselves as they attempt to grow will be paying their fees upfront and enjoying dividends down the road. However, those who avoid being tested and take the easy road will simply be using their dividends today and will suffer with more serious challenges and consequences down the road.
Find the center and all things become possible...What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
Yours in Health,
Andrew
Staying centered is crucial. From the center, all things are possible and all information is equally within reach. It is here, in the center, that athletes break records, that musicians record masterpieces, and that philosophers uncover a new way to look at the world. The center is akin to the singularity that all great religions seek - some have called it peace, love, zen, happiness, etc.
In the center there is unity - oneness. Struggle doesn't exist on its own. Neither does pain, or hate, or even death. All these negative, death-energy concepts rely on a splitting and dividing. All things are connected in the center, and when we are consciously present there, we too benefit by sensing the connections all around us.
In order to heal others its important to realize many people, structurally, chemically, and emotionally, are way off center, lacking balance. Its important for those doing the healing to know where the center is and how to get there. If they are successful in placing their self into a grounded, open-minded, and empathetic posture, then they will have access to intuition and insight that will greatly benefit the healing process.
While talk is cheap and its easy to point to where one wants to go, taking the steps to get there will challenge everyone who dares. The point is that we will all be challenged. Those who challenge themselves as they attempt to grow will be paying their fees upfront and enjoying dividends down the road. However, those who avoid being tested and take the easy road will simply be using their dividends today and will suffer with more serious challenges and consequences down the road.
Find the center and all things become possible...What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
Yours in Health,
Andrew
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Firefighters & Architects -- Who are You Gonna Call?
Lets start this by asking a few questions: what is health? Is it the absence of pain? Or is it the presence of something else? Do we need emergency care specialists or should we be seeing preventative care experts?
While those are big questions, I believe chiropractic philosophy can help find an answer. I believe that chiropractic care is the key to unlocking your body's potential. Think of your dream home. Now imagine it has caught fire. Do you call the architect or carpenter? No, you call the fire department because that is an emergency. It is the same with your body. If you find yourself in a health emergency, you need to go to the hospital, to the emergency room. But lets say your dream home has a cracked foundation, some walls and door frames are not square, and a little water leaks in during rain storms. You wouldn't call fire fighters. You would turn to experts who deal with structure and function.
Now it is the same when we talk about chiropractic and health. Chiropractic is to you what an architect or carpenter is to your house. You can live in a crooked house, but would anyone recommend it? You also can live with chronic subluxations (spinal misalignments), but would anyone recommend that? Now consider the human body, its a little more complicated than a house. And if structure is important for your house, imagine how important it is for your health. Proper alignment of the skull and spine allows for proper functioning of the nervous system, which in turn increases health across a broad spectrum. Chiropractors use their hands and simple tools to move bones and tissues back into proper alignment. We don't use drugs, and we don't use surgery. Your body knows how to heal itself, and we respect and understand that.
Health is really a direction. Everything we eat, drink, think, and do affects our health. Chiropractic helps people of all ages, from all walks of life, to deal with the challenges we all face living day to day. Its all about your quality of life, and with chiropractic, you receive care that enhances your overall well-being.
Yours in Health,
Andrew
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Barrel of a Gun
One cannot spread democracy with the barrel of a gun, nor can one spread health with a bottle of pills. We need to address the shortcomings of the human condition with the same holism we would apply to our patients. Each human is a “cell” of the human family much like each cell is a unit of the human body. The effects of dis-ease in society can be shown to parallel the dis-ease of the human organism. As a society we do not need an authoritative fascist police-state to force us to be good citizens. If we give ourselves liberty, unalienable rights, and a strong set of critical thinking skills, then good citizens and a healthy society will be the result. In human health we do not need reductionist, synthesized solutions to symptoms. We need nourishment of mind, body and soul and healthy humans will be the result. We are a community in both the micro and macro sense.
We feed our bodies processed, reduced foods and toxic substances, we stress, and we are in general an ill bunch. In the same manner, we feed each other toxic thoughts and processed ideas, ideas and thoughts with all the nutrition removed, so that we are left starving for meaning and truth in our lives. Our bodies are burdened by toxins and lack of real nutrition just like our hearts and minds are collectively looking for a rewarding path to follow, something that will nourish our mental and spiritual bodies. We pray upon the weaknesses in our fellow man while we worship the morally corrupt. We suffer from physical cancer and emotional cancer. The two are self-reinforcing, increasing the disharmony between cell-to-cell, person-to-person, and people-to-planet communication and understanding.
If we are looking for a solution to our circumstances today, it would serve us to look in the mirror with an open and forgiving mind. Whether it be at the cellular or societal level, there are consequences for greed and sloth, for corruption and lack of leadership, for malnourishment and stress. Health permeates all levels of existence -- as above, so below say the alchemists. When we return to principals of vitalism in all areas of our lives, then the world will start to change. Change will happen across the entire spectrum, micro-to-macro, since in fact it is all ONE. There is hope in the realization that it is not the people or the cells, but the environment into which we place ourselves and our bodies that is the problem. Cells want to be healthy, but in the presence of abuse and stress they can become diseased. People raised with fear and hate are no different. There is no way to peace, peace is the way just as there is no way to health, as health is the way.
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