The Politics of Healing

As I drove home from the office last night, people were celebrating in the street. Barak Obama had been elected our new president and there was excitement in the air. People seem particularly passionate about the change our country needs and who would be best suited to produce the desired results. I had many people, including clients; ask me who I would be supporting.

There's an old saying, “In business, never talk about religion or politics.” People can be quite opinionated about these subjects. If you bring up those topics for discussion you may have the opportunity to bond with someone who shares your opinion or distance yourself from someone who doesn't. From a diplomatic standpoint, it's wise to steer clear.

In his book, “The 12 Stages of Healing”, Dr. Donald Epstein summarizes various stages of healing or states of consciousness people experience. The second stage of healing, he calls polarity. In this state of consciousness we look outside of ourselves for our solutions or fulfillment. In this stage, we don't take full responsibility for our own experience. For instance, I might experience happiness if I attract a wonderful new relationship or job. If my happiness is based upon these circumstances outside of myself, and I lose the job or relationship, I would also lose my happiness.

In a state of polarity we tend to look at opposites and see things only as wrong and right, good and bad, black and white and so on. Initially, when the relationship, job or doctor makes everything better for us we love them. Alternatively, when they no longer fulfill or fix us, we blame them.

Stage two is prevalent in healthcare. Patients put the power and authority in the hands of their doctor, hoping to be “fixed”. In this way, they relinquish responsibility for their own health in hopes of being saved from the disease or symptom that has afflicted them.

Sometimes politicians use the stage of polarity to jockey for position and win elections. They do this by pointing out how bad their opponents track record is or how the opponent's values are opposite of yours. For instance, a politician might use the platform of Christian family values because it can polarize and compel people to vote based only on that issue. Interestingly, the polarized platform usually becomes much less relevant once the election is over.

When thinking about the election and the needed change in our country and the world, an Albert Einstein quote comes to mind. “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it .”

In our medical based model, we look to our doctor to remove our symptoms. If we look at the state our healthcare system is in, it is easy to see that the model simply doesn't work. If an individual wants to change their health, they must begin to change themselves and the environment, internally and externally, that created their current state of health. Even if one is successful in quelling their symptoms, if that is all that changes, the original or another symptom will inevitably return.

In a state of polarity, we look to our politicians as our saviors. We hope that they will be the ones to fix things for us. The reality is that politicians are just a reflection of society. Politicians and their policies are merely symptoms of society that emulate the traits of the collective consciousness of the people they represent. It is understandable that people want a change in the government and its policies but if a sustainable change is to occur, we must look at changing ourselves and our own state of consciousness.

Along with the excitement of Obama's victory, comes the trepidation of uncertainty. Will our new leader guide us to better times? Even Obama agrees that a changes is something that must come from all of us as he states, “This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.”

As a Network practitioner, one of my goals is to help individuals move toward self empowerment. As my clients' spines and nervous systems become more flexible and adaptable, they are able to make changes in their own perceptions and behaviors, automatically. They begin to move out of consciousness of polarity and in to one of transformation. That is the key to changing their lives.

Clients of Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration consistently report ever increasing levels of wellness. As we move out of the “healthcare” model and into the wellness model we realize and embrace our own responsibility for our health, our lives and our community. The Center for Holistic Health is a wonderful resource for wellness care.

When Awareness Fades, So Does Our Health

During a recent trip to New York , I spent a night at a childhood friend's house. At about 6:45 the next morning, I heard the sound of an alarm clock which was coming from my friend's room. The noise was loud enough so that it could be easily heard throughout the house. The alarm continued to sound for approximately 90 minutes before it was finally shut off. I had experienced this on another occasion while staying with this friend, so I wasn't concerned about the fact that no one was paying any attention to the loud pulsing siren.

As you can imagine, the repetitive, “beep, beep, beep, beep…” was fairly annoying. Although it seemed that my friend and his wife had no problem continuing their slumber, I was to lay awake, unable to escape the unrelenting irritation. Or, so I thought.

But then, something began to happen. It was a very gradual occurrence. I didn't even realize it was happening. Within about twenty or thirty minutes the noise began to fade. But it wasn't the noise that was fading. The volume of the alarm remained constant for the full hour and a half. After a while, however, I began to unconsciously tune it out. It was almost as if it wasn't even there anymore. However, if I refocused my attention on the alarm, I realized the signal was as loud as it ever was.

Everyone will, from time to time, experience symptoms in their body. The symptoms are meant to alert us to the need for change. It might be that we are overwhelmed with stress or that we need to modify our behavior in some way. Either way, the symptom is prompting us to become aware and take the necessary action.

At this point, we have a choice to make. We can listen to our body and make the necessary changes, we can ignore the symptom or we can even attempt to cover the symptom, which is the philosophy of a medical based approach.

When we ignore and attempt to cover our symptoms we become less and less in tune or connected to our body. We are less able to respond to the subtle cues that our body is trying to give us. If attention is not given, the next round of symptoms can be even more severe.

Many times we feel successful if we can just get some relief, even if our pain or symptom isn't completely gone. We begin to accept this as our new standard. Each time our health diminishes a little more.

The previous evening, I asked my friend how his joints were feeling. He has suffered from Gouty arthritis for the past several years. As I watched him struggle to climb the stairs, he said, “I'm doing really great, almost completely better.” The following day we had a conversation about his overall health. At the age of 37, my friend, who is a smoker, is on medication for his arthritis, his previous heart attack and to help him sleep because he is too stressed. Despite his need for all of these prescriptions, his doctor told him he was very healthy. I'd hate to see what it would take to be unhealthy in this doctor's eyes.

I couldn't help but think about what a fitting analogy the ignored alarm was for my friend. Unfortunately, I think his story is one that is lived by many.

Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration help our clients develop strategies to navigate their bodies symptoms and use them as beacons of change. Only through awareness and adaptation can we reach our full potential.

You Don't Need to Think to Be Aware

Very often, when clients or patients lie on my table and receive a Network Spinal Analysis entrainment, they become extremely relaxed. Sometimes they drift off into what many describe as another place. I call it “checking out”. Checking out is not necessarily a bad thing, however, it is not the most desirable state for a Network entrainment.

Some ask, “Isn't the whole idea to become as relaxed as possible?” While I am in favor of a client becoming relaxed, I don't want them to fall asleep on the table. Unlike many modalities in which the patient plays a completely passive role, NSA works best with a patient's awareness and participation.

Just before I begin the Network entrainment, I ask the participant to refrain from incessant thinking and to remain awake and aware through the process. I often get protests from this request. “How can I be aware if I'm not thinking?” This brings up a very interesting point of differentiation. Thinking and awareness are very different.

Thinking utilizes your mind and Awareness is more about paying attention. When having a conversation with someone, you would speak and alternatively listen when the other person was speaking. However, if you decided not to stop talking, even if the other person was speaking, you would have a difficult time hearing anything they would have to say. In this case, you would be focused primarily on your own thoughts and words.

For some people, thinking is an endless loop of internal conversation. Science has documented that people have more than 60,000 thoughts each day. It can become nearly impossible to pay attention to anything else. A major goal of NSA is to help a person become more aware of their body. It is only through greater awareness that change is possible.

Like every other concept in NSA, this principle applies to life as well. If we go through life constantly stuck in our endless thought patterns and judgments, we are less able to really pay attention to what's happening. When we're not fully aware, our ability to change and adapt is compromised. The inability to change and adapt results in stuck patterns in our body and our life.

Network Spinal Analysis facilitates an individual's ability to become aware of the stress and tensions stored in the body. Once this heightened awareness is created, the body automatically develops strategies to release these tensions and adapt better to future stressors.

Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration are two of the most amazing methods available to help people achieve greater states of wellness. The unparalleled results of Network Care are well documented in a University of California study and monitored and matched everyday at the Center for Holistic Health.

Join us on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, 7:30 PM, at the Center for Holistic Health in Decatur to experience a free introduction to this miraculous work.

Wellness is a Habit

Statistics show somewhere between eighty five and ninety percent of all disease is lifestyle related. Lifestyle is simply an accumulation of habitual behaviors. Those behaviors can come in the form of the food we eat, what, if any, type of exercise we participate in, our mental emotional patterns, the way we behave in relationship and everything we do, think and feel.

Most people come to the Center for Holistic Health because they would like to have a better life experience than the one they are currently having. It could be that they would like to change a physical symptom such as high blood pressure, headaches, pain, digestive problems or lack of energy. Sometimes they are experiencing anxiety, depression or a lack of focus. Some people are simply looking to enhance the way they experience life. Their desires might include being more inspired, passionate, joyful and in tune with their intuition and life's purpose.

If our symptoms and experiences of life are dependant upon our lifestyle then it would stand to reason that if we wanted to change our experience, then we would have to change our habits. This is the concept of wellness.

Traditionally, when people seek care in the classic medical model, the focus is placed on mitigation or removal of the symptom. That's one model and certainly a common one, but it does fall short in some areas.

To begin with, there is no such thing as a magic bullet. For instance, even if one is able to reduce high blood pressure with medication, that medication may also cause collateral damage to the body and other symptoms as well. This forces one to decide which is worse, the original or the new symptoms. I'm not sure about you but this doesn't seem like an ideal scenario to me.

In addition, reducing symptoms without changing underlying conditions will never result in the experience of more inspiration, passion and joy.

Wellness, on the other hand, offers, not only a shift in the symptoms one is experiencing, but in the condition or state that lead to their manifestation in the first place. Wellness also opens the possibility of an even healthier and more vibrant state of existence than one previously had.

In order to achieve any goal, including wellness, one must have a strategy or road map to get there. Network Spinal Analysis is a method specifically designed to create a shift in physiology, perception, experience and behaviors which results real changes. These strategies include discovery, transformation and awakening.

First we must discover how we've gotten to where we are. What are our habits that have resulted in our current experience? How do we react to stress? Are we aware of how we hold tension in our body and how to release it?

Once we have discovered how we have lived life to this point, then we can begin to enact change. From our new found awareness we can begin to release old patterns while creating more flexibility in our system and in our lives. This is the only way a real shift or transformation in our habitual experiences can occur.

When we have become more flexible we can then begin to focus our attention on more depth, wisdom and richness in our life experience. In this way, we have moved beyond survival and can awaken to our full potential.

Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration are two of the most amazing methods available to help people achieve greater states of wellness. The unparalleled results of Network Care are well documented in a University of California study and monitored and matched everyday at the Center for Holistic Health.

Join us on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, 7:30 PM, at the Center for Holistic Health in Decatur to experience a free introduction to this miraculous work.

How Long Does it Take to Heal?

Matajura wanted to become a great awordsman, but his father said he wasn't quick enough and could never learn. Determined, Matajura went to the famous dueller Banzo, and asked to become his pupil. "How long will it take me to become a master?" Matajura asked. Suppose I become your servant, to be with you every minute, how long?"

"Ten years," said Banzo.

"MY father is getting old. Before ten years have passed, I will have to return home to take care of him. Suppose I work twice as hard; how long will it take me?"

"Thirty years," said Banzo.

"How is that?" asked Matajura. "First you say ten years. Then when I offer to work twice as hard, you say it will take three times as long. Let me make myself clear; I will work unceasingly; no hardship will be too much. How long will it take?"

"Seventy years," said Banzo. "A pupil in such a hurry learns slowly."

Patients will often ask their doctors how long it will take for their pain or symptoms to go away. Based on the doctors' experience in treating people with similar symptoms, they can render a guess about how long it should take for the patient to feel better. The contract between the doctor and the patient is that it is the doctor's responsibility to remove the pain. It is not usually part of the contract to find out what's behind the symptoms. This is the basic format of the medical model.

Sometimes when the contract is not fulfilled, patients may get fed up and seek the services of a holistic practitioner. There are a few possible reasons for this. Either the pain doesn't go away, it doesn't go away fast enough, or it goes away but returns.

People contact me regularly because they heard about how someone else's symptoms resolved, and they would like the same results. Whether they are aware of it or not, they have entered the realm of deeper inquiry. The first leg of the journey of healing is discovery. We must find out how we have arrived at this point. Then, instead of just removing the symptom, we can work toward a change in the behaviors or circumstances that led to it in the first place. In this arrangement, the patient becomes more involved and empowered in his or her own process.

The majority of people who seek Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) are happy and very willing to trade being fixed for becoming more empowered, even if the resolution isn't immediate.

For some, there is an expectation that NSA is designed to get rid of their pain immediately. Even though this is a common outcome, it usually occurs when the patient learns to find and release his or her own tension.

I had a client with chronic back pain that was in part caused or exacerbated by the fact that she would sit with poor posture for long periods of time so she could study. She wanted to know when I thought her back pain would subside. Her back was hurting because her body was calling for a change. NSA will actually help us become more aware of the changes we need to make, not numb a person from pain.

She felt that if she took breaks or shifted her behavior she wouldn't get enough studying done. At first she was completely inflexible about there being any other possible solution. I asked her what would happen if she changed her story. What if, by taking more breaks and keeping her body in more of a state of ease, she could actually be more effective when she was studying? She had not considered this.

If my hand is placed upon a hot stove, I would be grateful to experience pain. It would indicate the need for me to remove my hand from the stove. Without the signal, my hand would burn up. If somehow I could remove someone's pain without them discovering why it is happening and what needs to change, am I really doing them a favor?

Recently, on her second visit, another client was pressing me for a prediction of how long it would take her to get “better.” She had neck pain that, by her testimony, was stemming from her inability to deal with her mother's death. Like everyone who seeks healing, she had a process of discovery and release that she needed to experience in order to resolve her symptoms. The time process for this will be different for everyone.

It might be noted that NSA offers ever-evolving strategies for healing and growth. Even if the pain resolves in the first visit, there is always more room for healing and growth. To ask how long it will take is sort of like asking, how long will it take for a tree to grow? A tree will continue to expand its roots and develop new foliage until it dies. One could argue that we are here, in this life, to continually grow and expand as well.

If that philosophy makes sense to you, then NSA was made for you. If you've been away for a while or have never tried NSA, call and book your appointment today. You'll be glad you did.

A Stroke of Insight

In the medical model our main concern is to remove symptoms and restore the body to its previous state. From a wellness or healing perspective we may actually want to gain some insight from our symptoms so that we can learn, grow and evolve. I often tell clients that within every symptom there is a gift.

Jill Bolte Taylor is a medical brain researcher who had the experience of a stroke which she later describes as a gift. There is a video available on the internet called “A Stroke of Insight”, which tells the story of Taylor's experience. During her stroke she lost use of the left side of her brain and consequently experienced an increase in the qualities of the right brain.

As she explains during her seminar the left or more linear part of the brain is used for separating and categorizing our world. The right brain sees the beauty and connection of everything in the world.

During this episode she experiences a level of peace and connection that she never knew was possible. Some of what she shares reminds me of my experiences at Transformational Gate seminars receiving multiple Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration sessions.

Taylor makes the point that we don't have to have a stroke to consciously choose how we want to use our brains, choose our experience and effect those and the world around us. So check out the link below and let us help you get a little more connected at the Center for Holistic Health.

Dr. Gene

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229

Myths of Healing

Throughout different periods of our life we tend to have different belief systems. For instance, when I was a child I believed in Santa Clause. At some point I realized that my parents were the ones placing the gifts under the tree. For most of us it is likely that as we grow and evolve, so will our views and beliefs. However, some beliefs tend to remain with us through most our lives even if they don't work for us. Cultural beliefs are particularly difficult to change since they are so entrenched in society's story. In his book, "Healing Myths, Healing Magic", Dr. Donald Epstein writes:

There was a time, not too long ago, when our ancestors believed that the sun and the moon, the rivers and the forest, were sacred. Rhythms of Mother Earth were sacred. Stories, dances, or songs told the history of their people. "Their roles in life were guided by a rich tradition of folktales, legends, and myths." Even though the word myth means story, these prevailing myths or stories of a society are considered its norm or "reality," and are sacred.

For example, if someone breaks your heart, you cry. If someone runs into your car, you become angry or annoyed. If you have a body ache, you take aspirin. These are all acceptable responses for our society and our bodymind. What if you laughed when someone broke your heart or you danced after someone ran into your car or you turned up your favorite music as loud as you could when you had a headache? People might think you are crazy, you might not care, because now you are refusing to respond the way you may have been programmed to respond. Our physiology responds with a story about how things are supposed to be. Choosing to respond differently opens the door for possibilities.

Have you ever woken with a runny nose, congested sinuses, and swollen eyes, coughing and wheezing? What type of health care will you seek? Traditionally, we seek health care when there is a health problem. Depending on the treatment that you believe works determines the type of health care you will seek.

If you seek the advice of an allergist, you may be told that you are the victim of an allergy. Once you are told that you have an allergy, for example, you can experience the symptoms, and go on living your life. If someone asks about your runny nose, you can respond, "Well, it's because I have this allergy." If you choose to see a nutritionist for the same problem, you may be told that the problem is an impoverished nutritional state, instead of an outside substance producing the allergy. As a result, the nutritionist might suggest a different diet or nutritional supplement. If someone asks you about your symptoms, you can respond, "I have a food allergy." And, if you decide to see a chiropractor, you may be told that the messages between the brain and respiratory passages are impinged upon by interference of the spinal nerves. The chiropractor's story centers around the need for messages from the brain to reach every vital organ and part of the body so that our life force will express itself properly. And if someone asks you about your coughing and wheezing, you can respond, "I have a subluxation in my spine." All of these professional diagnoses may be correct, but what is your story behind these diagnoses?

If we have a physical symptom or psychological distress, traditionally our goal is to battle it, cure it, or control it. Unexplainable and uncontrolled expressions of emotion, symptoms, breath, or body are considered problematic and require intervention by a specialist. Once the specialist applies her magical treatment to assist us in achieving comfort, this allows us to continue living our life as we normally do, without making changes to our story: attitudes, beliefs, or lifestyles that may have contributed to the problem in the first place.

Even though we experience an illness through our biology, our psychology and a strong cultural component is responsible for a significant part of our response to circumstances, as well as the development and duration of symptoms and disease is linked to our views and experiences of our world. For example, your family doctor has discovered that you have the same terminal illness as your father had. According to your doctor's experience and beliefs, he will tell you have a certain number of days, months, or years to live. If you accept this diagnosis because your father did, and you might, it becomes your story. And so on and so on.

We cannot forget that the powerful placebo is 30 to 70 percent effective. The New York Times reported several studies that show the placebo effect at work: Venezuelan children with asthma had a 33% lung function increase by smelling a placebo. In Japan , people exposed to fake poison ivy developed real rashes. Patients who received arthroscopic knee surgery or were told they received the surgery produced similar levels of pain relief. 42% of balding men taking a placebo either maintained their hair or increased the amount of hair on their heads. Scientific America published a report where one group of patients received surgery to treat angina pectoris symptoms (severe pain and constriction about the heart), and enjoyed a 76% improvement. The placebo group had an incision made and were told they had the procedure performed. They had 100% improvement.

Although we may not be able to escape from our culture and our stories "Healing Myths, Healing Magic" inspires you to become the storyteller of your own life; to recognize and empower those stories that help your life flourish, so you can experience a greater level of health and well-being than any previous story has allowed.

Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration help individuals develop flexibility in the bodymind and the opportunity to create a shift in their self perception. I invite you to journey with me and entertain the possibility that you are more powerful, loving, creative, prosperous, compassionate, and healthy than you have ever imagined. See you at your next entrainment.

“Healing Myths, Healing Magic” is available for purchase at the Center for Holistic Health.

Make Consciousness, Not War

It has been said that one cannot fix a problem with the same level of consciousness that created it in the first place.

When I read a book or see a movie or observe life around me, I notice how that observation or event relates to the wellness paradigm. While reading Ekhart Tolle's book, “A New Earth”, I read a passage that depicts a perfect example of wellness and holistic care versus illness and traditional medical care. It can be found on Page 75 and reads as follows:

“These days you frequently hear the expression ‘the war against' this or that, and whenever I hear it, I know that it is condemned to failure. There is the war against drugs, the war against crime, the war against terrorism, the war against cancer, the war against poverty and so on. For example, despite the war against crime and drugs, there has been a dramatic increase in crime and drug-related offenses in the past twenty-five years. The prison population has gone up from just under 300,000 in 1980 to a staggering 2.1 million in 2004. The war against disease has given us, amongst other things, antibiotics. At first, they were spectacularly successful, seemingly enabling us to win the war against infectious diseases. Now, many experts agree, the widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has created a time bomb and that antibiotic-strains of bacteria, so-called super bugs, will in all likelihood bring about a reemergence of those diseases and possibly epidemics. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association , medical treatment is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in the United States .”

Tolle points out that the more we put energy into fighting things we don't like, the more they become empowered. Fighting does nothing to change the environment which spawned the condition in the first place.

The focus of Western medicine is fighting disease. Yet, in spite of the vast resources being directed toward this fight, there is no reduction in the amount of disease people are experiencing. In fact, we find new diseases and new strains of existing ones.

So what are better alternatives to fighting conditions like disease, poverty and crime?

In his book, Tolle proposes raising consciousness rather than waging war against these undesirable conditions. Treating illness as an enemy and perceiving it as evil often makes the conditions worse. Tolle doesn't advocate ignoring conditions at hand, but ultimately, without changing the consciousness or the environment that led to the situation, our efforts will be futile.

If the body is overstressed, toxic or unhealthy it may become a fertile breeding ground for any number and variety of diseases. One option is to fight and try and get rid of these diseases. Another option is to help restore the body to a healthy state.

The focus of the wellness paradigm is on raising consciousness about how we approach our environment, our bodies and our lives. From this place of awareness and acceptance, we navigate a more constructive and holistic solution. Instead of fighting the symptoms or conditions we experience, we establish positive strategies for optimal living and being. Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration offer positive strategies for adapting to stress and creating a deeper connection to our innate wisdom.

Ekhart Tolle's books, “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth,” are available for purchase at the Center for Holistic Health.

Do We Have a Choice in Healing?

I am in a profession that continually affords me the opportunity to witness people in their healing processes. To witness someone in the healing process does not simply mean to notice that s/he is experiencing a symptom. We don't have to look too far among our friends, family or even ourselves to notice someone with physical symptoms.

In an old paradigm, the Medical or Treatment model, symptoms are seen merely as a nuisance, something to be removed or eradicated. Symptoms are treated, and success is determined by whether or not the symptoms are resolved.

Part of my role as a wellness practitioner is to help my clients and practice participants observe the symptoms they may be experiencing, from a new perspective, the Wellness or Holistic Paradigm. In this new paradigm, symptoms are seen as signals or guideposts, used to redirect our behaviors and create whatever change is needed in our lives. These changes may need to come in the area of nutrition, physical, chemical or emotional stress, our relationships, releasing old traumas or being in line with our soul's purpose, to name a few. The Wellness or Holistic Paradigm is all about recognizing symptoms as a call for change and exploring the messages they have for us.

I was speaking to someone the other day who was inquiring about Network Care. When I asked him what he would want from receiving care, he simply said that he didn't want to be in pain. Who could blame him? Is there anyone who really wants to be in pain? After some more inquiry on my part, he went on to say that he just wants to be comfortable.

As the day progressed, I thought more about that statement. Did he mean that he just wants to be comfortable in the physical sense or in all aspects of his life? In my understanding, there is a direct relationship between the experiences of our lives and how we experience our physical bodies.

It seems that life constantly presents us with challenges or opportunities for our own personal growth. If we never experienced any challenges, our opportunities for growth might be very limited. Some might even go as far as to say that Life, God or the Universe will present you with these very challenges, whether you like it or not.

I've heard life described as moving down a path. If we just stop and sit down on the path we a liable to get run over. I wondered if we actually have a choice. Are we able to slide by in life without any discomfort? I've heard Network Spinal Analysis developer Dr. Donald Epstein say that if you're not doing what you're supposed to, if you're not living your soul's purpose, then it is supposed to hurt, and nothing is supposed to make it stop. Ouch! .

During my second visit with clients, I review their physical findings, progress and future strategies. We then decide whether my care is what they are looking for. I always state, in some form or another, that if they don't want anything to change in their lives, they may want to reconsider taking the path of healing, for true healing will always bring about change.

Whether or not we want to pursue the path of healing is an individual choice. However, if life is prompting us to make a change and we ignore its signals, we are likely to become very uncomfortable. If we continue to ignore the signs, our symptoms are likely to become unbearable.

Maybe we don't have a choice. Maybe if we truly want to be comfortable and fulfilled, we must choose to find ways to listen to our bodies, to life, and roll with the changes instead of fighting against them. Maybe we can choose healing.

What's The Goal of Healing

Years ago, when I first began to study and practice Dr. Donald Epstein's work, it was called Network Chiropractic. Through research and trial and error, Network Chiropractic has evolved into a technique that is now called Network Spinal Analysis (NSA). One difference between the two techniques is that there is no longer a structural adjusting component or the neck and back popping that is usually associated with chiropractic techniques. The other main difference is the introduction of levels of care. Each level of care is associated with a new strategy for clients to learn as well as expected clinical and self reported outcomes.

The levels of care provide a framework and roadmap for the direction of each particular visit. It also helps goal-oriented practitioners to have something to work toward. Although it is great to have working goals, there is a downside to being completely goal-oriented.

One day, I had a conversation with a client who was very concerned about how far she had gotten in her clinical outcomes each visit. If she didn't reach the same or better level strategy as she had on the previous visit, she felt like she had failed. After noticing this response a couple of times, we had a conversation about it.

The truth is, based upon the number and frequency of visits she had had, her progress was as good as or better than I would have expected. But success was not coming fast enough for her. Through a more in depth conversation, I discovered the same theme in other aspects of her life as well. So I inquired, “What if you reach this goal, then what happens?” She answered, “Well then I can start the next thing.” This went on for a few rounds before she realized that this strategy could never truly satisfy her.

Within each level of care in NSA care there are gifts, information and strategies to be learned and integrated. Each person receiving care is unique and may require more or less work in any particular level. With this in mind, it would not be appropriate to rush to the next level simply to get there.

Even if an individual has worked in an advanced level of care, there are often times when basic care strategies need to be reinforced or addressed with more depth. Tiger Woods, arguably the best golfer in the world, is on the practice range every day practicing his swing. While it's obvious he knows how to swing a golf club by now, he can always achieve a greater level of depth in that particular strategy. A similar logic can also be applied to healing strategies. NSA clients will constantly move back and forth between level of care strategies, depending upon their needs on any particular day.

In NSA, as in life, if everything is about getting to the next level or goal, an individual can miss out on the gifts and learning that take place along the way. As Dr. Epstein says, “It's great to set goals, but it's not about reaching the goal, it's about the person that you become along the way.”

Robert Updegraff, author of Be Thankful for Your Troubles, writes, "Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them."

We've all heard the saying, “Life is a journey.” NSA and Network Care provide a system that guides individuals through the journey of their own healing process, as in life, wherever it may go and however long it may take.

Bridging the Gap in Healing

Several years ago when I first began practicing, a client told me about a conscious living group that she was attending. Given my mainstream upbringing, I wasn't even sure what that meant. As far as I was concerned, to be conscious simply meant to be awake, and after all wasn't everyone awake?

Now there's an interesting question. In one sense, to be awake simply means that we are not sleeping. According to the dictionary, to awaken means to rise up and take action. Finally, being awake can mean to come or bring to an awareness; become cognizant. For example, when one awakens to the realities of life.

Over the past several years, I've had the opportunity to read many books on the subject of consciousness. Being in the field of wellness has also afforded me some interesting experiences that have helped to open my understanding of the concept. No doubt, this is a journey that I will continue to expand upon.

I recently had a conversation with a client about bridging the gap between awareness and the ability to act upon that awareness. One of the main concepts I promote at the Center for Holistic Health is becoming aware of the body and what it is trying to tell us. Initially, the body's signals are subtle. Many times we are not even aware that it is trying to tell us something. This is usually because our attention is placed upon a multitude of other things. This is easily understandable in our fast-paced culture.

When we don't, or are unable to pay attention to our body, the signals can become louder. This is an attempt to get our notice so that we can change whatever is needed. This call to awareness can come in the form of symptoms. For example, if an individual is too stressed at work, they may begin to develop headaches, ulcers, indigestion, or other symptoms.

We often receive emotional signals as well. If we are not acting congruently with what we know is right or if we are fighting against the flow of life it can cause us mental and emotional anguish. Dr. Donald Epstein says, “All of our problems arise from our inability to experience our experience.” Sometimes we fight against the flow of life and hold onto the idea of how we thought things should be. Sometimes it can take us days, weeks, months or even years realize the wisdom of the universe and let go of our attachments. If we can learn to let go of those attachments, the quality of our life experience will be greatly enhanced.

I often think about this concept in terms of our environment. What if we could be more aware of the subtle signals of the environment? It seems that we usually wait until there is an imminent crisis before we begin to enact a positive change. I'm sure there are volumes that could be written on this subject. Carbon monoxide emissions, environmental toxicity and destruction of natural habitats and species are just a few examples that come to mind. Here in the state of Georgia , it seems as if we had to wait till our lakes were dangerously low before we really got serious about conserving water.

One way consciousness could be described is by where we place our focus and attention. When our attention is stuck and fixated on events of the past that we cannot change, it hinders our ability to be awake and aware of the needs of the present moment. The present moment is the only time when we are able to take action to change and adapt to our world.

In a state of elevated wellness and consciousness, we are better able to direct where we place our focus and attention. When we are unable to do this, we are, in effect, unconscious. However, we can work toward heightening awareness of our internal signals and acting appropriately. Wellness is about bridging the gap between the two.

Letting Go and Healing

I was raised as a Catholic, and there is one aspect of my religious upbringing that has always stuck with me. When asked about this, the answer I usually give is that I'm a big fan of Jesus. Through my years of exposure, it seems to me that the main theme of his teachings is love unconditionally, love without judgment.

Unconditional love is wonderful in theory, but how often can we actually practice such a premise with ease? There are two answers. First, that it is easy. We need only to choose love in each moment. Secondly, it can be very difficult unless we are willing and able to let go of our attachment to a given outcome in a situation.

One reoccurring theme for me when working with clients is to ask, “What is it that we can get or learn from our body's symptoms or challenges?” We might also ask, “What is it that we can learn from life's challenges?”

For some time now, I've had a conceptual understanding of the teaching that there are gifts in every experience we have. Even though people in our lives may have wounded us, the experience offers us wisdom that we would not have received otherwise. It was only recently at a Network seminar that I could actually feel this experience in my body. This was one of the most wonderfully powerful and freeing experiences I've ever had. For the first time, I could truly feel love and gratitude for the people in my life that I felt had wounded me most deeply.

I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to see the Dali Lama a few months ago when he was lecturing at Emory University . In addition to being moved by his wonderful nature and the wisdom of his teachings, I was intrigued by another Buddhist tradition, the meditative construction and subsequent destruction of a Mandela made of colored sand. All week long the monks worked on creating an extremely intricate Mandela. Anyone who saw it could bear witness to how absolutely beautiful and amazing this piece of art/work was. Yet, at the end of the week they destroyed it. Because we are attached to the outcome for things of beauty to have permanence, our first thought might be to wonder how the monks could bear to destroy something so beautiful. However, this tradition teaches the lesson of impermanence and non-attachment.

My favorite author, Elkhart Tolle, writes in his book, “The Power of Now,” about the practice of meditating on the experience of your own death. While this may seem like a morbid exercise, it can free you from your attachments to life and/or your fear of death. Death is inevitable. However, once we have let go of any fears we have of dying, we can we truly experience life.

When we experience an attachment to an outcome instead of looking at an experience for the gifts that it has to offer, we set ourselves up for mental anguish. This will deteriorate the quality of our life experience and can even lead to symptoms in the body.

Essentially, most spiritual leaders and teachings have similar messages. In order to truly experience the joy of life and relationships in each moment we must be willing to let go of our attachments. It is only when we fully let go of our attachments that we can experience true unconditional love.

Is The Dog Whisperer Holistic?

I have often commented that the concepts I work with and teach in Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration are not exclusive to these methodologies. In fact, as I look around I constantly see these principles showing up in print, video and in life. These holistic or life principles and could easily be applied to any discipline.

The other day I was watching television with my friend Jason. He turned to the National Geographic channel and asked if I had ever watched a show called “The Dog Whisperer”? I had heard about the show prior to that but had not had an opportunity to see it before then.

The “Dog Whisperer”, Cesar Millan, has an uncanny ability to help rehabilitate dogs with behavioral problems such as aggression, unrelenting barking or jumping on people. As I watched the program I noticed the concepts he taught to the dog owners were totally congruent with what I would teach to my own clients.

Dog owners bring their pets to see Cesar when they desire to change an unwanted behavior. The first point Cesar makes to the owners is that the animal's behavior is a way of sending a distress signal. Somehow his needs as an animal are not being met. The first idea I share with clients is that their symptoms are a call for change. Instead of just attempting to remove the symptom, or behavior, we can look at the circumstances that are causing our bodies or dogs to behave in that manner. This could be a change in diet, exercise, the dynamics of our relationships, or an owner's relationship with their dog.

One of Cesar's techniques is to introduce the behaviorally challenged dogs into his pack of well behaved dogs. One of the reasons he does this is because the energy of the pack is calm. Just by being in the presence of the calm pack, the misbehaving dog will automatically begin to change its own energetic state and behavior. Cesar is employing the concept of harmonic entrainment. Harmonic entrainment is the matching of vibrational tone or energy. When the hyper, nervous or aggressive dog is placed among the calm energy of the pack, he will automatically begin to adopt the same tone and demeanor. Network Spinal Analysis uses the phenomenon of harmonic entrainment to help create a more relaxed physiology for its clients. Transformational Gates are seminars that participants can receive Network care in a large group setting for the same reason. The results are automatically much more powerful.

Cesar also understands that more often than not, a dog's behavior is a reflection of the owner's behavior. Part of his protocol focuses on retraining the owners to be calm and assertive. Many times we wonder why we have so much stress and drama in our lives. We feel like victims of circumstance. However, if we can learn to create more peace within ourselves, we tend to attract less stress and drama into our lives.

Finally, Cesar does not believe in a quick fix and says the best way to find a solution to your dog's problem is to show real love. If we look at the problems we are having with our animals or in our lives, our bodies or our relationships with judgment and blame, it is very difficult to find real solutions. If we can approach them with love, patience and commitment, we have an opportunity to create a shift that is more likely to become a long term change.

Reorganizational versus Restorative Healing

Once again the holiday season is upon us and as always I feel blessed to be invited to a number of holiday gatherings. While I wouldn't consider myself an extrovert by any stretch of the imagination, I do enjoy being social and making new acquaintances and friends. When meeting new people it seems inevitable that they will ask “the question”. “What do you do?”

The simple answer, of course, would be to say that I'm a chiropractor. However, in my experience, that either conjures up images of twisting and popping of the neck and back or elicits another common response. “I have a bad “blank” (insert body part), can chiropractors fix that?” Neither is very descriptive of anything close to my practice.

At that point I have a choice to either smile and nod my head or engage in a more in depth description. It can be a bit of a challenge to give a short but informative description without giving a full consultation right there next to the cheese and crackers. Why?

There are basically two reasons for this. To begin with, even though evolutions of what has become Network Spinal Analysis have been around for a quarter of a century, it still falls outside the normal cultural “box”. It's not exactly a common profession like being an accountant or lawyer.

On top of that, many of the words that could be used to give a description have different meanings, depending upon who is using them and what is the general public perception. It's almost as if there is a turf war to claim the newest buzz word that will draw people to a particular service.

The word health is a perfect example of this. Even though health is defined as a state of optimal physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease, “health care” is almost exclusively focused upon the removal of symptoms and disease. Let's face it, mainstream healthcare has very little to do with optimal well being.

How about the term “Wellness”? To me, Wellness is the generalized self perception of health of the individual across the domains of physical, emotional, mental, stress, life enjoyment and overall quality of life and person's subjective perception of their sense of self. So, people think, “wow, wellness, that's got to be a step up from just waiting till something goes wrong”. But I'm sure everyone has heard commercials describing wellness as the early detection of disease.

To confuse the issue even more we can join two words in an attempt to create a more precise definition. Some of my favorites include alternative medicine, holistic health and holistic medicine. The problem is that these words are going to mean something different to everybody. I would say holistic health is an alternative to medicine, rather than alternative medicine. And, if you ask me, holistic and medicine don't even belong in the same sentence.

Some other terms I could use along with the previous might include energy healing or mind-body work. Once again, while these terms may touch on some aspects of my work, they can be quite ambiguous since they can take on many different meanings.

Recently, Dr. Donald Epstein, author, lecturer and founder of Network Spinal Analysis and other disciplines, has coined a very descriptive term describing and delineating differences in the types of care that an individual can seek. The term he now uses is Reorganizational Healing. The antonym for this would be Restorative Healing.

Any type of care that seeks to restore you to your previous state or that is focused upon the removal of symptoms would fall into the category of restorative healing. Almost all health care providers would be in this camp.

The focus of Reorganizational Healing, on the other hand, is to help a person move to a state that is better or more organized then before they became symptomatic. I always say to my clients, “If I wave my magic wand over you and your symptom goes away, but you don't learn, grow, change or alter you life in any way, did I really do you a favor?” If there is no net gain in wisdom, we are bound to repeat the same life patterns and express the same symptoms. If you are successful in quelling your symptoms, your body will find another way to express that change is needed.

In addition to that, one can receive reorganizational healing regardless of whether or not they have any kind of disease or symptoms.

Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration are methods that fall into the category of Reorganizational Healing. In fact, the principles of Reorganizational Healing could be applied to almost any discipline. It is really a matter of purpose and outcome.

I don't know if the holiday party conversations will be a whole lot shorter, but there will certainly be no mistaking these terms.

Health Care Providers Using Fear Tactics

Last week one of my practice participants called to ask if we could schedule some time to meet. She said she was feeling pressured about her electing to receive Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) care. Of course, I agreed and we scheduled a meeting for the following day.

The next day I found out that the pressure was coming from a chiropractor. Several months earlier she was offered a free exam, including an x-ray. The x-ray revealed a diminished disc space in the lower lumbar spine. He told her that she needed to get under his care to resolve this problem, or else the problem would get worse. He warned against the potentially devastating and degenerative effects of not receiving chiropractic care.

Although I certainly could rebut the fear-loaded testimony he gave for need of his care versus the care she was already receiving, I'm more interested in exploring another concept for now.

It is very common amongst health care practitioners to utilize the same approach as the chiropractor. And to the credit of all who use it, it works. Practice management companies in the chiropractic profession know that, in addition to its diagnostic use, x-rays do wonders for patient compliance.

I think it would be accurate to say that most patient compliance, in all medical fields, is based on the fact that patients are afraid of what will happen if they don't follow orders once they are presented with negative test results. To put it another way, patients make decisions based on the fear that symptoms will persist, become worse, harm them or even cause death. I'm sure there are times when this is an appropriate response. If you're standing in front of an oncoming train, the fear of death is an extremely effective and appropriate motivator. However, fear based responses are certainly not appropriate for every symptom your body expresses, and for that matter, every situation that life presents.

Symptoms are the body's call for attention and change. They can teach and direct us as to what lifestyle or behavioral changes are needed. If our only motivation is to extinguish symptoms out of fear, we will most likely miss the body's message. This can result in the return of the original or a more pronounced symptom with no net gain in insight.

If we adopt the same strategy in life, we will settle for surviving instead of thriving and growth. It seems that throughout life, we encounter situations that require us to re-evaluate and shift our focus, direction or behaviors. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we didn't have to navigate these situations from a mindset of fear?

Remember, in fear or a stressed physiology, we are accessing lower brain centers while drawing resources away from the more evolved higher brain. This is important when considering decisions about our health and life. Access to the higher brain enables us to process more information and gives us the ability to create and consider choices that may help us adapt to and grow through life's experiences.

To put it simply, being stuck in a fear based perspective disengages and disempowers us. Yet large segments of our society, like conventional medicine, operate heavily in fear based models. The truth is that most people don't even realize it. They just accept it as the way it's always been.

In my client's case, she had adopted the ideals of the wellness model and chose not to fear her body. This is sometimes a difficult road to take in the onslaught of the cultural norm. History has shown that cultural perspectives can and often do change. However, new ideas tend to generate resistance. Galileo was ostracized for suggesting that the Sun was the center of our solar system because his ideas were contrary to the cultural “truth” of the time.

Methodologies such as NSA that are based on a wellness model direct attention toward positive strategies rather than the fear of inaction's consequence. The wellness model is certainly not the most widely accepted and utilized model in today's culture, but it offers us the growth and life enhancement that fear of survival simply cannot.

Is There an Invisible Force That Connects Us?

Several years ago I heard about an interesting phenomenon called The Hundredth Monkey. The Macaca fuscata monkeys had been observe in the wild for many years. In 1952, on the Japanese island of Koshima , scientists began dropping sweet potatoes onto the sand to see what the monkeys would do. One young monkey, who found the taste of sand objectionable, washed her sweet potato off in a stream before eating it and then taught this trick to her mother. Soon, all the young monkeys on the island were doing this and then elders began imitated their children. One day, a tipping point was reached – let's say it was the hundredth monkey – and all the monkeys on the island began washing their potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But that's not all. Scientists observed that monkeys on other islands and even the mainland began washing sand from their sweet potatoes as well. Their deduction was that when a certain critical number achieves awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind. There have since been disputes to the validity of the experiment, however, similar phenomena have been observed in humans in other experiments.

There is a very popular experiment that illustrated how Transcendental Meditation performed by a group of 4,700 was able to reduce the crime rate in Washington , D.C. by 23%. I believe this experiment is more widely accepted in the scientific community.

These two examples and other similar experiments point to the idea that there is something other than what our normal senses can pick up, call it telepathy or collective consciousness, which appears to somehow connect us to each other.

Network Spinal Analysis works on a principle called harmonic entrainment. Examples in nature would include flocks of birds and schools of fish who “know” how to move together, or women residing in the same household whose menstrual cycles become synchronized.

If you come home and your partner is angry, you need not even see or hear him/her in order to feel the energy or vibration (vibe) s/he is emitting. If you remain in proximity, your vibrations will begin to match or entrain to each other's. Similarly, if you work in an excessively stressful environment, your physiology will match the rest of the group.

Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) simply helps your brain to entrain to a more peaceful vibration or place.

Parents tend not to want their children hanging around the “wrong element.” This is because parents know that children's behaviors tend to match the behaviors of the surrounding group. In addition to the psychological effects of peer pressure we harmonically entrain to each other's vibrations. This in turn affects our structure, which has a direct effect upon our behaviors. Flexibility in our structure creates flexibility in our perceptions, choices and behaviors. Conversely, entraining to a vibration that puts our physiology in defense automatically means that we're not fully accessing our higher, more evolved brain. Given this scenario, we are less likely to think or act independently or even consciously consider our actions fully.

Interestingly enough, because people receiving NSA gain greater nerve system flexibility, they automatically begin to shift their behaviors. It could be said that in addition to accessing their higher or conscious brain, they are entraining to their own internal signal.

As people progress in Network care, their general tone and vibration become different than that of most of the people and the environment around them. Consequently, while they may leave the office in a certain vibrational state, they may not be able to maintain it if constantly entraining to the environment around them. This is, in fact, the case for all of us.

One of the things I do for my own personal well-being is to attend seminars called Transformational Gates. Hundreds of attendees receive Network Entrainments and other supportive practices in a room with eighty to one hundred entrainment tables. If you are lucky enough to attend a Gate, it quickly dispels any doubt in your mind that we have an undeniable connection to each other.

I've also noticed that my practice participants who attend Transformational Gates and smaller versions called clear days are more able to maintain a higher level of care in the office. This higher level of care and the associated strategies learned are statistically congruent with experiencing a higher quality of life.

Undoubtedly, we affect and in some way even need each other. Many indigenous cultures, tribes and civilizations throughout history have gathered for dance, for ritual and to entrain to a vibration of love, gratitude and support for each other. Many people gather at churches, temples and synagogues for their spiritual nourishment. Collectively these rituals support and manifest the concept of community. But as in the story that opened this article, it all begins with one monkey, one breakthrough idea or energy. NSA can help that breakthrough be for you.