HAPPY GIVING THANKS.

As I sit here contemplating this particular Thanksgiving week with all the craziness in the world AND in America, I realize there is much for ME to give thanks.

I was born a free man in the United States of America, a nation maligned by many who take so much for granted. For all that America has been blamed, it still has done more to improve the life of hundreds of millions of people around the World. It is STILL the place where the World seeks refuge and opportunity.
I was born a Southerner. As such, I was taught manners, respect for women, strength of character, duty, honor, to protect the weak and to love my country.

I am thankful for the United States military. Military service gave a young man discipline and direction when it was much needed. It also allowed me to earn a college education and the chance to be more than what my past had prepared me.

I have been blessed to have finally realized my calling and purpose of serving God by serving my fellow man as a chiropractor focused on freeing people’s locked potential for expressing life, health, happiness and prosperity. I get to help babies, kids, families and individuals in all walks of life. It’s also a great avenue for sharing the message of a bigger Design for people’s life and potential. I’m a crazy chiropractor and that is awesome!

I have two great kids who are smart, productive and who love their parents. They understand their potential and want to make the World a better place in their own ways.

Finally, I’m grateful to have been pulled from a morass of despair and hopelessness by a Loving God who set me free to be me. I have found in the darkest of times that His Grace is sufficient and gives me a peace in the midst of any storm.

Oh yeah. I am grateful for the many friends I have who tolerate my sometimes weird sense of humor, my Conservative political philosophy.

HAPPY GIVING THANKS!

God’s Plan and Chiropractic

Funny thing about “God’s Plan”.  I hear that term used in so many scenarios, I used to wonder just what “God’s Plan” for each one of us really is.  Some people justify their misery by saying it must be part of “God’s Plan”.  Some credit their success to “God’s Plan”.  It seems (sometimes) like the ending of Will Smith’s “Men in Black” movie where the gods are playing marbles with all the planets and their inhabitants.

I’m not buying it, though.  I have a whole different take on “God’s Plan”.  And, I’ll make the  connection to chiropractic in a minute.  Be patient.

I DO believe that all the Universe was Created and that part of that Creation included a Design with natural laws to hold everything in place and keep everything balanced over time.  And, that that organization is apparent in ALL living things.  This Organization is designed to help living things achieve their maximum life potential.  In other words, a tree will use all resources available to it (including light, air, water and nutrients) to grow as tall as it can and to produce as many other little trees as it can.  It’s the same with any animal of any species.  They eat, drink, sleep and mate in order to live and perpetuate life.

You and I are Designed the very same way, with a little quirk.  Being at the top of the food chain, makes it a little easier for us humans to move up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  While we DO still have the natural drive to eat, breathe, sleep and procreate, we also were Given the power to reason.  Sometimes, I wonder if that power is a gift or a burden.  Some use that power to conceive, perceive and achieve at incredible levels while others use that power to enslave themselves and limit their own potential to achieve and enjoy life.  To me, it is incredible how the very SAME power propels some to unbelievable heights while enslaving others in fear and doubt.

Given all that, I personally believe God’s Plan for every person on this planet is to use ALL of Creation to achieve great things and to serve Mankind in tremendous ways.  In fact, I believe that the best way to glorify God is to make the fullest and best use of ALL of Creation, including yourself.

As a chiropractor, my main job is to help people understand the power they have to be healthy, happy and fulfilled.  The other part of my job is to locate and remove a physical source of interference in how that is manifested in their body, health and life.  When I do this, miracles happen in my office.  Sometimes the miracle is an unexpected healing… by established “knowledge”.  Sometimes, it is someone being able to sleep an entire night through for the first time in years.  Sometimes, it is the return of clear thinking and peace of mind.  Sometimes, it becomes the catalyst for someone turning their entire life around.

If indeed we were made in the “image and likeness” of the Creator of all things, then the “Plan” for you and me is greatness.  I believe that you really were endowed with seeds of greatness and that “God’s Plan” for you is great beyond your wildest dreams.  There are only two things you need to get there.  First, you must accept that your were Designed for greatness.  Second, you must remove the barriers to your ability to get there.  Okay, there is a third thing.  You must ACT on that understanding and put the Plan to work in your life.

I wish you the best in your journey.

This Thanksgiving.

It almost seems trite in the midst of hard times to tell folks to be thankful for the small things in their life. Seems kinda like offering gravy without the turkey, dressing or potatoes.

These are tumultuous times in America and throughout the world. Even more so are they hard on individuals and families. Many Americans have not seen times this hard in their lifetime. And while appreciating even the small things can offer comfort, it seldom offers the hope, strength and endurance needed to not only survive the hard times but to thrive despite them.

Certainly, I’m glad for those things that many of us take for granted like a car, a place to sleep and food to eat. But those things merely get you by. Getting by, though, just doesn’t seem to cut the muster.

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the BIG things, things so big that they’re not things, at all. They’re principles that guide me through life whether the times are good or bad.

Here’s one. I’m glad that I’m an American. Even in these crazy times with the economy and politics, ours is still one of the most stable countries on the planet. When the rest of the world is economically unstable, investors STILL look to the United States as the last safe place to put their money. In the short term, things might not look so great.

But in the long run, we’re still the economic engine for the entire planet. And besides, where else can you so freely express yourself than America. Whether you’re in the Tea Party Movement or the Occupy Wall Street movement, you still have a voice.

Another. We were designed to be healthy, whole and happy. That just means that I can assume that from the moment I was conceived, my basic design was for health and that if I work within certain guidelines, I don’t need to fear sickness, disease and infirmity.

Granted, there are no guarantees of complete health nor freedom from untimely death. But I can assume that I’m supposed to be healthy. And if I do those things for which my body was designed, I will experience the maximum health possible for me.

Oh yeah. Eat better, exercise regularly, get restful sleep every night, develop and maintain a positive mental attitude, and maintain a healthy nervous system.Still another, love. The instruction manual tells us that “Perfect love casts out fear.”

In other words, if you can find a way to love yourself unconditionally and then do the same with and for others, your life will be better. Love and fear cannot exist in the same place at the same time.

When you can live your life and love your life regardless of what is or is not happening around you, fear has no hold over you. I know, that sounds so mushy. But I’m not talking about that mushy lovey dovey love stuff. I’m talking about the very appreciation for life itself and the bigness that brings. You know that “Love thy neighbor as thyself” kind of thing.

Finally, the glory of going on. The football analogy is that you simply don’t stop until the final whistle. There’s a special kind of feeling knowing that you kept going through good times and bad. The satisfaction one gets by knowing that nothing can stop you is sometimes enough to propel you to heights unknown.

I believe that we were each and all designed for greatness and to do great things. And as bleak as things sometimes seem, I’m reminded that it’s always darkest just before dawn.

So in this season of Thanksgiving, I hope you DO appreciate the small things because that keeps us humble. But, I encourage you to give praise and thanks for the big things because those big things are why you and I are here.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Are you an acorn or an oak tree?

Every three months, I attend a gathering of several hundred of my chiropractic friends to help us stay focused on our mission to help improve the lives of as many people as we possibly can.  Since I’ve been doing this for over twenty years, you can imagine that it’s both enjoyable and inspiring.  The world can wear you down and drag you down if you let it.  Knowing that what we do as “DE chiropractors” can have profound effects on people’s lives way beyond back pain should be enough to keep you going.  But, it can be tough.

Anyway, at a recent DE meeting a friend from Canada used a metaphor that has so many implications that I simply had to share the message.  In a meeting with a new client, my friend held up an acorn and asked “What do you see?”  Obviously, the answer was “An acorn, of course.  Why?”  My friend’s response was “I see an oak tree, a forest of oak trees, a home and furniture and tools all built from the wood of the oak tree.  I see endless possibilities.”  Wow!  What a concept!

My first thoughts were from my perspective as a chiropractor that a person’s health could be fantastic without interference in how their body is designed to work.  Even further, that just as their health could improve, so could their vision of their own life, world and opportunities.

How do you see yourself?  Is it as a single little acorn amongst billions of other seemingly meaningless other acorns or as a potential mighty oak tree providing shade, comfort and opportunities for yourself and countless others.  You were Designed for greatness but delivered as a tiny seed.  You really need just a few things to reach the potential of your Design.  You need to SEE your own potential.  You need to be firmly planted in rich soil.  You need no interference in pursuing that potential.  And finally, you need to actively pursue that potential not necessarily knowing how great you can be but always moving toward your greatness.

Think of the lowly little squirrel.  We all know the squirrel scurries around burying acorns throughout the forest.  ?Does he do this just to be hoarding food for the winter?  Or is he investing in his (and others’) by spreading his own vision of oak trees and forests?

 

In all you do, whether it’s losing weight, exercising more, finding a good DE chiropractor, reading more, investing more wisely or creating meaningful relationships pursue your potential.  See your bigger picture.  Plant forests.  Most of all, do it daily in every aspect of your life.

Clear Thinking and Chiropractic

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I know what you’re thinking.  “What the heck is this guy talking about?  Clear thinking and chiropractic?  You must be kidding!  I thought chiropractors were about back pain and stuff like that.”  And, there are lots of folks (including many chiropractors) that think the same thing.

Truth is that if you see a chiropractor just for your back pain, you’re really missing the boat and your chiropractor is cheating you out of the greatest benefit of what he/she has to offer you.  And chances are they’re simply giving you what your insurance company is paying for, symptom relief.  Sadly, many chiropractors (all kinds of doctors, actually) sell you lots of stuff you don’t need simply because your insurance company is paying for it.  Sorry chiropractors.  It’s just true.

Let me explain.  Most chiropractors are trained to locate and correct a misalignment in the bones of the spine (vertebra) that is putting stress on a spinal nerve or the entire nervous system.    Because the nervous system is the first system developed in your body and the one that runs everything else, if you have stress on it, your body AND your life is simply not going to work as well as it could.  When that stress is reduced things work better.

Okay, I’ll get to my point.  If you have stress on your nervous system, your body chemistry might be just a little off, your perception of the world around you and your interpretation of things you see and hear might be slightly different than reality.   Have you ever noticed that when you’re stressed, you react differently than when you’re relaxed?  It’s the same concept.

When you’re stressed, you’re in “fight or flight” mode.  When you’re relaxed, you’re in fulfillment mode. When you get adjusted (especially at the top of the neck) your body relaxes and moves toward that fulfillment mode.  That’s when you think more clearly and can focus on things much bigger than your physical symptoms, like your life goals and reason for being.

When you’re finally able to think bigger thoughts, you begin to see the world as it is instead of merely how you are.  The cleaner your filter on the World becomes, the clearer your thinking becomes.  When that happens, another new world of possibilities opens to you.

If you’re not under chiropractic care or if you’re chiropractor is more focused on your symptoms than your life, let me know.  I’ll help you find one that will help you begin to open yourself to a whole new way of thinking and living.  Clear.

I had a patient die this week

I had a client die this week.  I know the tile said a “patient”.  But, I titled the post that way so more people might read what I needed to say.

I was really bummed out until I started thinking about our relationship.  Linda had been referred to me by her husband whom I had met at the Chamber of Commerce.  He heard me talk about chiropractic and HBP and heart problems.  Linda had had a congenital heart defect.  At best, Linda was a 95 lb (probably 85 lb) weakling.  Her wrists and ankles were no bigger around than a corn stalk.

When she started, she complained of fibromyalgia and had a hard time walking any distance without tiring out.  She could not go to her Mary Kay conventions without a wheelchair and someone to help her.  Eventually, she shed the wheelchair but kept the meetings.  Her fibromyalgia mysteriously disappeared.  She was a sweet, cheerful little room that added light to my life and those around her.

Oh.  Linda had been under another chiropractor’s care in the past.  She wondered why I would adjust only one or two bones while her previous DC seemed to “click” every extremity joint and articulation of her spine.  Should loved our Principles and the beauty and simplicity of what we do.

While I’m sad at the loss of my friend and client, I know where the “other side” is for her AND that her life was improved for the few years we shared because of chiropractic.

Simply put, chiropractic works.  I never doubt it.

I’m a ChiropracTOR

I’m a chiropracTOR. My focus is on chiropracTIC and NOT on Medicine. Medicine has its own problems and kills lots of Americans every year. I DO get frustrated at how religious folks can be about their Medicine. Medicine is a Man-made contrivance and is subject to Man’s fallibility. At its core, chiropracTIC acknowledges a higher power in both the design and function of all living things. We don’t try to “fix” it. We just try to remove A barrier to its normal function.

Can we build a new human?

Then how can we fix an old one?hat’s a reasonable question.  hat’s a reasonable question.  Isn’t it?

It never ceases to amaze me how “scientific” Medicine purports to know how to treat all kinds of conditions of the human body.  Yet, these “scientists” don’t even know what has caused most of the problems they claim to “fix”.  In virtually every case, the best they’re able to do is affect the symptoms of whatever the real problem is.  Shrink the tumor.  Stop the sinus drainage.  Suppress the immune response.  lower blood pressure.

Yet, “something” takes one sperm and one ovum (egg) and makes a baby in just 9 months in the case of humans WITHOUT help from “science” or Medicine or even the Government.  Personally, I consider that quite miraculous.

When I think of  two cells becoming a complete functional living being with all its cells and tissues and organs and systems working together in perfect harmony, I have to ask the question “Wouldn’t the process that made that happen also not also have provided a functional immune system capable of dealing with any malady likely to confront it?”  I’m sure you know the answer.  Yes, of course!

Maybe it’s time we open our minds to the possibility that we living things typically arrive complete and that we don’t as much need to be “fixed” as much as we just need to make sure the system is allowed to function as it was designed with as little interference as possible.

That’s actually, what the chiropractic profession was designed to do.  Those of us that practice from that perspective have seen what some would call “miracles” because without drugs or surgery because we respect that Design, remove interference and step back and watch.

Sadly, we get bogged down trying to explain it in a really technical way.  But, the truth is that just like gravity works every time, taking stress off your nervous system works every time, too.  And just because “science” or Medicine can’t explain it in their terms does not mean it doesn’t work.  It does work, just not the way they want it to.

Principled chiropractic works because it works WITH the same wisdom that took those two cells and made it a living functional human being.  It is that same wisdom that strives to make you healthy and able to adapt to virtually any situation or circumstance that you may encounter.

You’re NOT a Piece of Hamburger!

I grew up in the 60s and 70s when the thinking was to always question authority.  So, I learned to do just that.  Over these many decades, I’ve learned to ask questions.  Lots of questions.

When you ask questions and develop the skill of listening and thinking for yourself, you also become better at knowing when someone is shooting straight with you or giving you a line of BS.  Unfortunately, many folks have not developed their gift of discernment and merely accept what their told as truth.  There’s an old saying about assuming that most folks have heard.  It’s still true.  Generalized assumptions can get you into lots of trouble.

One of those areas that assuming you’ve been told the truth is your health.  There is so much “information” about your body and your health being shoved down our throats that it is sometimes hard to decide what’s true and what’s not.  But, it has been that way for so long that most folks get overwhelmed by the piles of information that it’s just easier for them to assume they’ve been told the truth about drugs, vaccinations, conditions and “diseases”, surgery, etc.  Things like “cholesterol causes heart disease”, “meat is bad for you”, “prescription drugs are safe”, “shots prevent the flu” and so on and so on.

The problem with all these assumptions is that they leave us with the impression that we are our bodies and an assortment of pills, potions, lotions and/or procedures are all we need to be healthy.  NOTHING could be further from the truth.  A friend of mine often says “We are NOT our bodies”.  Still others have said that we’re not physical beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a physical experience.

By assuming that we are merely machines crafted from flesh and bones directed electricity and chemical reactions, we steal from ourselves the true essence of life itself.  We are, in fact, MORE than our bodies.  Think about it.  There is NO difference between a living person and someone who has just died of a heart attack.  All the chemicals are still the same, the structure is still the same.  They have all the same parts.  But, what is different?  The difference is that intangible thing we call life!

Mechanistic practitioners of the healing arts scoff at the concept of “life force” or “Innate Intelligence”, yet they can never quite put their finger on what causes homeostasis, your body’s vital balancing act.  Sure, they know when that force is present and when it leaves.  But, they can never quite define it.  Many so-called “scientific” practitioners even deny its very existence.

But, you KNOW there’s something in you that wants to be “healthy”, happy and “whole”.  You know that feeling good is more than just not having symptoms.  You also know that somewhere inside you is a desire to be part of something bigger than yourself.  At a time when technology and “knowledge” have reduced humans to little more than lab rats and the culture forced us into machine-like tools of production, the human spirit clamors for freedom.

I believe that is why chiropractic was discovered only 115 years ago.  It took a few generations of production lines and deadlines to become a major source of death, disease and societal mayhem.  Since that time, the pace has only quickened.  We’ve finally reached the point where palliative care and reactions to medical treatments have become as dangerous as the ailments they are designed to treat.  In fact, the whole treatment mentality has become devoid of common sense.

Americans (ALL peoples, in fact) are seeking something, actually anything, that will help them live better, feel better and enjoy their life more.  People are realizing that there is more to life than just getting by.  The search for “meaning” is greater than ever because the separation from “meaning” is greater than it has probably ever been.  Because the simple chiropractic adjustment takes stress off the nervous system, it helps you relate better to your own body as well as your immediate environment.  The longer you keep that stress from piling up on your nervous system, the quicker and deeper you will realize that greater “meaning” that everyone is seeking.

No.  I’m not talking about God.  But, what I am saying is that there are millions of people who say they believe in God yet lean on Medicine for their comfort and hope.  Real comfort, real hope comes from KNOWING who you are, what you are and how powerfully you were truly made.  Chiropractic simply helps you more fully realize your potential for health and happiness.

Chiropractic Missions and The Membership Practice

In the late 90s, Dr. Jim Sigafoose lead a series of chiropractic missions to Central America.  Over a span of a dozen years, hundreds of chiropractors participated in those missions adjusting hundreds of thousands of people.  Still today, chiropractors do missions work all over the world.

Some of these missions stand out for several reasons.  One was the miracles.  People with chronic illness were healed.  The lame began to walk, the blind to see, the infirm strengthened and the hopeless regained hope.  Another reason was the sheer number of people served.  In single trips lasting up to 10 days, literally hundreds of thousands were adjusted by a mere handful of chiropractors.  Some  adjusted at least 10,000 in a single mission.  That’s 1,000 a day!  Probably one of the greatest things that resulted from those missions is that some chiropractors were set free of limitations.

I remember Sigafoose telling folks one time that participating in a mission had the potential for making or ruining a chiropractor’s practice.  When asked what he meant, he responded “You never see yourself or chiropractic in the same light again.  You’ll either go back and tear down the walls that limit you and chiropractic OR you’ll go back to where you were and resent the things you let hold you back.”

Some chiropractors returned and literally tore down the walls  and began adjusting in the open.  Others began to simplify their procedures and systems.  Still others converted to “All cash” practices to remove interference in their practice by third party payors..

Even today, many chiropractors say “How can it be that simple?”  One answer is to stop practicing as limited scope medical doctors diagnosing every patient and jumping through the hoops required to get paid by insurance carriers.  Still others have been pigeon-holed by their so-called chiropractic “education” into thinking you can’t possibly deliver quality chiropractic care to that many people in that short span of time.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

So, how could so few adjust so many in such a short period of time and STILL give quality chiropractic care?  The answers may amaze you.  Here’s just a few reasons why it worked:

• Few words were spoken – Because of the language barrier, a simple presentation was made by an interpreter to large groups before getting in line.
• Adjustments were limited to the upper cervical spine.  In other words, deliver the MOST effective adjustment to the MOST people in the LEAST amount of time.
• Simplest procedures possible.  No paperwork.  No insurance.  No CYA.  No BS.  Chiropractic analysis ONLY.
• No worries about money.  Many will say “Of course they were busy.  It was free!”  They paid plenty, just not as a direct fee.
• The chiropractors had no distractions like phones, families, news, sports or world events.

Many have asked since those mission trips, “How can I integrate THAT perspective into my practice here in the US?”  The simple answer is “You can’t.”  Well, you can’t INTEGRATE that perspective into a traditional American-style chiropractic practice.  Simply put, today’s chiropractic is practiced literally from a Medical perspective with all it’s procedures and complexity.  And to make a point, THAT is exactly what chiropractic wasn’t (and isn’t) at its core.

You can’t integrate simplicity into complexity.  But, you CAN replace complexity with simplicity.  I know it sounds difficult to do.  But, so is falling off a log.  The hardest part is simply deciding to opt out of the complex system practiced here in the US.

Here’s the key.  SIMPLIFY!   That’s it.  Just like with those mission trips, you get back to the very basics of what we do as chiropractors.

• Tell the story in as few words as possible to as many people as you possibly can.
• Don’t waste words on idle chatter.
• Limit paperwork and procedures to the bare minimum required.
• Do JUST chiropractic!  Locate and correct subluxations.  No medical diagnosis.  Better yet, do ONLY what is necessary.  If nothing else, make sure the Atlas is clear.
• Offer a simple, affordable fee system that fits into most people’s budget.  Unlimited care plans at a fixed fee makes sense to me.

Personally, I have found The Membership Practice the most congruent way to practice.  The concept is not new, but growing.  I challenge every chiropractor who wants to enjoy their practice more by doing JUST chiropractic to simplify their business on every level.