In Touch

The Politics of Healing

2008-11-12T12:52:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-12T12:46:00.003-05:00

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

2008-09-10T13:58:00.001-04:00

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

2008-09-10T13:55:00.001-04:00

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?

2008-09-10T13:50:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-10T13:45:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-10T13:29:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-10T13:22:00.002-04:00

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?

2008-09-10T13:00:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-30T16:39:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-27T16:34:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-25T16:24:00.002-04:00

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?

2008-03-19T16:02:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-19T15:48:00.004-04:00

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

2008-01-22T20:21:00.001-05:00

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?

2008-01-21T20:41:00.001-05:00

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.

What Can We Learn from a Five Year Old?

2007-11-12T22:12:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting a friend in the burbs who has a couple of young daughters that know me as Uncle Gene. Visits usually include hide and seek, chasing through the house and tickling and burying the kids under the sofa pillows.

On this particular day, as I was holding and tickling his five year old, Sarah Kate, I fell backward and caught her bare leg and foot between me and the wrought iron chair I was sitting in. As you can imagine, with her tiny leg being caught between my weight and the hard chair, she became justifiably hysterical. When we asked if she was okay, she just shook her head, “no,” with a terrified expression, and cried. Of course, I felt terrible, and wanting to help, I calmly said, “I'm sorry, Sarah Kate. Can you tell us, on a scale of one to ten, how bad your leg is hurt?”

My original intention was to assess if she would need any drastic medical attention. It turns out, she was okay, but something very interesting happened during the exchange. Within about three seconds, she went from a hysterical state to a light whimper, stating she was ok. Instantly, I realized that when I asked the slightly more complicated question, Sara Kate's consciousness shifted out of her automatic, fight or flight state to a place where she could access her higher brain in order to answer.

This little incident is really a great analogy for what happens to us in our daily lives on a more subtle basis. The physiological mechanism of fight or flight is exactly the same as the stressed physiology that many folks live in for their entire existence.

Just to clarify, there are times when that physiology is totally appropriate. For instance, the other day, while moving furniture and electronics in the office; I accidentally grabbed hold of a plug that was half in and half out of the wall. I quickly jerked my hand away when I felt the hundred and twenty some odd volts running through my fingers. It was an automatic reaction, and a good thing too, since it would have taken too long for me to access my higher brain and consider a mode of action. Luckily, the body is set up to access the lower, more reactive brain for these very situations.

The whole incident had come and gone within a second. It wouldn't have been appropriate for me to stay in that reactive state after the incident was over. But that is exactly what happens to so many people who are overwhelmed with ongoing or peak stressful events. Even after the event is over, the heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar stay elevated. Our breath becomes shallower, our muscles tighten down and resources are directed away from the higher brain to take care of the “emergency.”

The higher brain, or more specifically, the prefrontal lobes, provides us with the ability to love, process new information, be creative and make self-assessments. These are all functions that we do not generally have access to in crisis situations. A majority of the time, people are actually unaware that they are even in a stressed physiology. In addition to all of the physical detriments that manifest with stress, our perceptions and behaviors are altered. Not only do we have a limited perspective on life situations, but we are less able to develop conscious strategies or options to deal with our life situations.

Methods such as Somato-Respiratory Integration and Network Spinal Analysis are designed to help individuals gain greater access to their own resources and navigate life in a more conscious state. Just as young Sara Kate was able to access her own higher brain and consciously consider her response and behaviors, we have the opportunity to do the same and navigate our lives from a place of resource instead of crisis.

Not Everything is Healthy in Health Magazines

2007-09-12T22:35:00.001-04:00

One of the so-called advantages of having an office like the Center for Holistic Health is the abundance of free magazines that are sent to us each month. When the magazine people call, they seem dumbfounded when I turn down a free subscription to Glamour or PC Gammer. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of Health Magazine in last weeks mail.

As I flipped through, I immediately noticed a number of prescription drug advertisements. Each of the eighteen ads had two full pages, one for the ad and one for the fine print. While the conditions to be treated varied, the possible side effects were quite comparable. The most common included headaches, depression, nausea, vomiting, musculoskeletal and joint pain, dizziness, respiratory tract infection, nerve system problems, immune problems, lupus like symptoms, blood problems, heart failure and of course, liver and kidney changes.

With a list like that, I might take my chances with the original symptom.

I suppose one could argue that the benefits out weigh the risks involved, or that the percentages of occurrences are relatively small. That’s an easy argument to make if you’re not the one. That’s also assuming the reported results from the drug manufacturer are accurate. Plus, these results are based on a particular amount of time. For example, the results may indicate that 5% of the people develop liver problems over a ten-week period. Who’s to say what that percentage will be at eleven weeks, or twenty weeks, or even a year? Who cares, right?

My uncle went to the doctor complaining of pain. He apparently had liver spots from having been on medications for quite some time. The doctor said, “Oh, that’s normal”. It may be that it’s the norm, but it’s certainly not normal and it doesn’t make it good.

I recently read an article from the Associated Press, discussing whether a particular diabetes drug should be “pulled,” in other words, taken off the market. The pharmaceutical company’s results contradicted an FDA advisory scientist’s report that called the drug unsafe. Who do you believe? I don’t know, but I’d have to seriously question any test result where there is a profit is at stake.

It’s important to note that most of the conditions treated with advertised drugs, and most health conditions in general, are lifestyle related. It stands to reason that there is a substantial enough cross section of “Health” readers with these conditions who will utilize the medications, and justify the cost of advertising.

I understand that advertising dollars are needed for any magazine to exist. It just seems ironic that a magazine titled “Health” would have so many advertisements that do not support the idea of health at all.

Someone may use a particular drug to achieve a desired change in his or her symptoms and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But the advertisements present the drugs as the solution. It would be unfortunate if the consumer remained unaware of the possibilities of increasing health rather than just treating symptoms.

In all fairness to the magazine, there were a number of articles and information directed toward improving one’s health. Talk about mixed messages, though. It’s sort of like having a “say no to drugs” sign on the medicine cabinet.

The Center for Holistic Health offers a number of holistic services, including Network Spinal Analysis, Somato-Respiratory Integration, Acupuncture, Massage, Reflexology and Nutrition, that encourage an integrated and empowered sense of well being and health to meet almost anyone’s need. Whether you’re trying to move though your symptoms or increase the quality of your life, consider becoming in charge of your own healing and find out how we can help.

Continuing With Network Spinal Analysis Even When It Doesn't Feel So Good

2007-08-19T14:40:00.001-04:00

By Linda Lewis

Little did I know that when I walked into Dr. Gene's office in Woodstock three years ago that such profound changes would happen in my life. Or that it would become a journey that would not only heal my body, but reach into the depths of my being and heal my heart, my mind, and my soul. Give me a greater ability to find peace and ease in my experience of life. And ultimately find more compassion and love for myself and others. And for me, it has not only been a journey, but a bit of a wild ride on the way, with the top down and up and down some pretty big hills.

My back was in pain, but I had never been to a chiropractor before. I decided it was time to see one, and for several years I had passed by Dr. Gene's office and thought if I ever did go to one, that is where I would go. I anticipated a few weeks of adjustments and my pain would disappear. Network was completely new to me. I was skeptical from the beginning, knowing that those light touches would no way fix my back. I thought, OK, I will go for a month, Dr. Gene seems like a genuine and caring person and seems to believe in this work.

That month became a few more, and so much was happening that I was amazed. Not only was my back better, but I was feeling so different mentally and emotionally. Like a heavy weight was being lifted off me, burdens and emotional pain that I had carried for years began to vanish. Things I had wrestled with and tried to find solutions to began to change. I had more joy and a greater sense of peace of mind. I was feeling more alive and vital.

I was also getting more in touch with myself and my feelings. There were times when I would leave the office and cry for a few hours, but it would pass and it seemed to be cleansing. The range of my emotions was widening, and with the intense highs from my entrainments there also came some intense lows. All along I was growing and learning a lot. Dr. Gene is a wonderful facilitator and teacher. He genuinely cares about everyone in his practice, which seems to be a rarity.

I felt that I was making progress in my life, and that real changes were happening with each entrainment. I could feel the effects for days. I was feeling the trans formative power of the work. I was healing.

Then for weeks, actually a couple of months, things began to flatten out for me. I had the blues and cried more and more each time I left the office. There were times I felt like I was in the dark night of my soul. So much was surfacing that I felt like I was in a constant battle with myself. I didn't feel that I was having growth in a positive direction anymore. I had been in regular care for a year, and I decided that was enough, I would find something else to do that would make me feel good. So I emailed Dr. Gene and said that I would be discontinuing my care at the office. I would come in the next week to discuss it with him, but in my heart I did not plan to continue. It just didn't feel good anymore.

That was a long week and I did feel hollow and achy inside. What if I could really experience all that I had heard Network could do? It was working beautifully for a while, why not now? ...

When I met with Dr. Gene, he was, as usual, incredibly patient and nonjudgmental. And he told me what I was experiencing was not unusual for level two of care. And that there was probably more there for me. He listened, and understood. And I decided to trust and continue for a while more. I am glad I did.

Sometimes we have to experience grief, anger, despair, and frustration and walk back through some of the dark nights of our past in order to experience the full range of joy today. I for one had learned to dampen down my emotions in order to feel less suffering in my life and in the lives of those around me. I am a nurse and regularly see more pain and sorrow than I had imagined was out there. And if we live long enough, we will all go through our share of pain on one level or another.

Before coming to Network, I thought that I had matured enough to not feel so much emotion, and could be strong by not feeling so much. I had effectively boxed myself in and narrowed my choices in life. I could avoid feeling fear by avoiding the things I was afraid of. But I was constantly achy and in pain, and knew that I was living at a lower level of functioning than was available. My joy for living was diminished. I did not want to grow old feeling this way.

A few months prior to finding out about Network, I decided it was time for change in my life and I had nothing to lose by living more abundantly. I prayed for answers and for a clear path to follow to experience change in my life. I knew it was either curl up tighter inside myself in defense, or start living the life I knew was out there. I was ready for freedom. It was like coming out of a web, breaking through chains, cracking open my heart. Restoring my strong sense of compassion and love that was there all along but had been veiled by the fear of living .

Sometimes it is intense. Sometimes it hurts. But that is Ok. There are also intense feelings of bliss. It has been quite a journey. I never regret continuing with care. It has been the most powerful tool for transformation and liberation that I could imagine. I'm still a work in progress. I know that there is more to come. I have so much thankfulness and gratitude that there is something that works so well. And that I can feel so much now.

Alternative Medicine Isn't Always Holistic

2007-08-19T14:30:00.001-04:00

Many people contact the Center for Holistic Health looking for an alternative approach to addressing their health problems. This is usually after the conventional approach they tried hasn't worked. Many times they're not even really sure what holistic means. I recently gave a consultation that exemplifies this point perfectly.

A woman came into the office complaining of pain and numbness radiating down into her arm. The condition was even beginning to cause her to have a loss of strength in the arm and hand. Another client had referred her, telling her I could work magic.

Throughout the consultation, I tried to lead her down the road of exploration into why she was experiencing these symptoms. Unfortunately, she didn't seem too interested in engaging in that exploration or much conversation at all. She just wanted her symptoms to go away.

When I asked, she insisted that she was completely stress free. Now, this is certainly possible but highly unlikely, especially in someone experiencing the symptoms that were plaguing her. After thirteen years of examining people, , I was well assured of what I would find. As expected, she had a high amount of tension stored in the area of the spine that produced the nerve supply to the symptomatic area. Based on my findings, I could also tell that it was a long-term manifestation. I let her know that this was something that didn't occur overnight.

After the exam, I began to work on her, helping her body to become aware of and release some of the stored tension. The release of tension was obvious to the both of us. She even commented about the difference she felt.

The following day I received a phone call from the woman. She said she didn't think the holistic approach was going to work for her. Her symptoms did not go away after the first visit, so she was going to try something different. I thanked her for calling to let me know of her decision to end treatment, but reminded her that a holistic approach is not associated with a quick fix; it is a long-term solution.

In reality, she had made the choice not to take a holistic route before she ever called the Center for Holistic Health. Like many, she was under the impression that holistic meant a natural, less invasive and even magical way of achieving the same goals as one would in the medical minded approach. While I don't sit in judgment of people's decisions to pursue a particular philosophical approach, the act of making choices without the full understanding of their ramifications is unfortunate. I would call that unconscious behavior.

Many people would like to plug a holistic practice into the medical model they are currently using. If your desired outcome is to reduce symptoms without exploration into the contributing factors, then the medical model is congruent with your goals. However, if your desire is to change the circumstances or behaviors that resulted in your symptoms, and to learn to adapt and grow, then a holistic approach is what you're looking for.

It is important that people understand the difference between these models, and that they embrace how the choices they make will affect their quality of life. When individuals have a better understanding, only then can they make informed or “conscious” decisions.

Is Holistic Non-Christian?

2007-07-06T11:57:00.001-04:00

by Dr. Gene Clerkin

This past weekend, my colleagues, Jennifer and Brenton, and I headed down to the Alive Expo with a box full of business cards, flyers, brochures and signs in tow. We were to spend the weekend stationed at our booth imparting information about holistic health and wellness, and, of course, sharing information about the Center for Holistic Health.

Even though the hours of the Expo were long, I felt extremely energized throughout the weekend. Teaching people simple concepts about how they can improve the quality of their lives really lights me up. It's also very interesting to hear the different perspectives, ideas and beliefs that the general public has about holistic health and wellness. I feel compelled to share a few stories to illustrate how individuals perceive the intersection of their religious views and wellness, and to ultimately illustrate how the pursuit of wellness and faith do not pose conflicts in thought or practice.

I was sharing the concept of getting more in tune with the wisdom of the body with a woman who had some health challenges. When I asked her what she thought about what I had said, she replied that she gets her healing from scripture. She felt that if she was more diligent about reading her scripture it would help her transcend her health challenges. Out of curiosity, I had to ask, “Why are you attending a health and wellness expo, if you believe that you are to get that from scripture?”

Several years ago, I had a woman walk into the office looking for a quick adjustment to get her out of pain. Apparently, she had been receiving quick fixes for years. I agreed to take a look and see what I could do. This poor woman had the most rigid spine I had ever felt. I couldn't even get her to relax enough to turn her head. When I suggested using focused breath to try and introduce some ease into her system, she became very concerned that I was teaching a “new age” concept and that it would conflict with her religious views.

Why do we think that using breath and movement is evil while putting synthetic poisons in our bodies is as natural as can be? There is something wrong with this picture.

Just the other day I had a client call to say she was going to discontinue care because she was a Christian. She had come in for a couple of visits and was actually experiencing a change in her body. Since she just couldn't understand how such a light touch could cause these changes, she became suspect of it, so I inquired as to what exactly didn't jive with her religious beliefs.

Her concern was that the healing energy used in Network Spinal Analysis might be coming from an evil force. While Network practitioners do not actually use outside healing energy, their system does assist the brain in locating tension, or energy that has been stored in the body. When this tension is released, one can experience the feeling of energy flowing through the body. It's not good energy, or evil energy, its just energy that's no longer stuck.

I was raised in a Christian faith and have had the opportunity to study teachings of Jesus. Never have I come across any Christian teachings that conflict with concepts of holistic health and wellness. In fact, the concepts are really the same. They are actually just concepts of life, and they would work no matter what your religion or belief systems are.

It seems sad to me that people would deny themselves an opportunity to experience more ease and peace in their lives because they are fearful of something with which they are unfamiliar. Each time I've encountered this type of resistance, I've asked the person where s/he perceives there is a conflict, and s/he is unable to come up with anything that's truly non-Christian or against the teachings of any other religion. In conversations, I've come to realize that people are just expressing fear based upon someone else having told them that holistic is non-Christian.

Since love is basically the opposite of fear, and God is about love, it's ironic that fear would stand in the way of people learning about methods to increase their level of wellness and enhance their experience of life. It's simply not logical that a religion would want anyone to be denied strategies to help them get out of a stressed physiology, especially when doing so would actually help them to have a more fully developed experience God.

Inner Peace: Is it My Responsibility?

2007-05-09T23:12:00.001-04:00

by Dr. Gene Clerkin

I recently started working with a practice participant who was dealing with a number of stressful situations in her life, including a major family illness. After a couple of visits, I consulted with her to review her progress and to share how Network Care could help her live a less stressful life. Something very interesting occurred during our conversation.

After receiving a couple of Network entrainments and experiencing what that could feel like, she was confronted with the possibility that she might actually achieve a state of ease in her life. Surprisingly, the possibility of experiencing more ease in her life frightened her more than the inability to do so.

When she reached this realization I could tell something was wrong. When I asked her about it, she said “I'm not sure it's fair for me to feel peaceful while the people around me are in turmoil.” She also wondered if we shouldn't be stressed out about all of the problems we have in our society and our planet.

I suggested that even if she didn't feel like she deserved to be peaceful, doing so would actually better serve those around her. Think about it. Would you rather be around someone who is stressed out or someone who is more peaceful? This would be especially true if you were dealing with a life threatening illness.

When we are stressed out our physiology is set for survival and, among other changes, our resources are directed away from the pre-frontal lobes, or higher brain. Our ability to reason, process new information and create new strategies is severely hindered. It stands to reason that our resourcefulness for others and ourselves would be limited as well.

Based on the principle of harmonic entrainment, we also affect each other though vibration. If you walk into a room you can feel when someone is stressed, even without talking to or looking at them. You can feel their “vibe,” and if you stay in proximity to them your vibe will begin to match theirs.

A few years ago I conducted a seminar on “presence.” During the seminar, we touched on the aspects and importance of being present as well as some strategies for achieving greater presence. In our post seminar discussion, we all agreed that there was tremendous personal benefit in being present, and this brought up an interesting point about our responsibility in practicing it.

“Living in the now,” as Ekhart Tolle would say, creates peace, not only within us but in those around us as well. If this is true, one could argue our inherent responsibility to aspire for presence within ourselves. So, even if we don't feel like we are worthy, I believe we owe it to each other and the rest of the planet to work toward reducing our stress and experiencing greater levels of peace.

Making sense of nutrition

2007-05-09T15:41:00.000-04:00

by Trulie Ankerberg-Nobis, M.S.

Over the years that I have been studying and counseling others in nutrition, I frequently hear people complain that nutrition information and recommendations are confusing and too frustrating to implement. I can sympathize with this sentiment. When one week a study saying that fiber prevents colon cancer (and so one should increase fiber intake) and then the next week another study comes out saying fiber does not prevent colon cancer, which do you believe and which dietary changes should you make?

As a registered dietitian, I have had the requisite training and knowledge to comb through the confusion and help you come up with realistic changes that can add to your health. While public diet recommendations are aimed at populations, registered dietitians can help with creating a personal nutrition plan for individuals who have unique needs and goals. In the meantime, here are some principles to follow to ascertain whether the latest nutrition and health headline is worth making changes for.

1. Is this the first time you have heard this claim being made? Not all brand new nutrition news should be tossed out the window. But there should be some skepticism that this research may not play out to be the final truth. New studies need to be validated by further study. Also, newer studies are often smaller and have less statistical power than studies building on previous studies. But when another study comes out saying to eat more fruits and vegetables, this is a claim you have probably heard before and further validates the truth that more fruits and vegetables should be eaten.

2. Check the source. The study should be published in a peer-reviewed journal such as the Journal of the American Dietetic Association or American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . Unpublished studies or those that have not been published through a journal where it has been scrutinized by other nutrition experts may not be a valid. Anecdotal evidence needs to be tested in order for it to stand the test of time. Individual testimonials may be true but have not been separated from confounding variables to establish cause and effect relationships.

3. Studies done on animals have less validity than those done on human beings. It may be interesting to hear that rats lose weight consuming herbal supplements, but since we live in a very different world with different bodies than rats, it is best to wait to see if the same results ring true for human studies. Test tube studies are usually done on human cell lines making it more valid than those on animal cells, but the results would still need to be tested on human subjects before the results can be applied.

4. If the study is a review of many studies, it will have more validity as it evaluates a collection of studies on one topic. A meta-analysis is an example of this. For example, a recent meta-analysis on supplementation with various vitamins resulted in a collection of data with several hundred thousand people. People should take notice of the results of this kind of study and consider the results and recommendations.

5. Keep in mind that many media reports about nutrition research are highlighted as a way to increase ratings and sell newspapers/magazines and not to ensure you receive good nutrition information. If the conclusion seems outlandish or “too good to be true” it should be read with a critical eye.

Given these strategies to determine credible nutrition information, you should be able to better wade through the confusion. If you are interested in also gaining more nutrition knowledge to navigate through the grocery store or peruse menus for foods that will also contribute to your health and well-being, my services would be beneficial.

What is a registered dietitian and why should I choose one? A registered dietitian (RD) is a person who has completed a bachelor's (4 year) degree in food science, nutrition, dietetics, or other approved accredited program through the American Dietetic Association. The dietitian has also completed a 900 hour internship including hours in a clinical setting, passed the five parts of the association's registration examination, and maintains competency through continuing education. While all dietitians can call themselves nutritionists, not all nutritionists are Registered Dietitians. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist but not have completed any education and training standards.

Trulie Ankerberg-Nobis, M.S. is a registered and licensed dietitian. She offers personal diet counseling, supermarket tours, pantry makeovers, and cooking classes for healthy & delicious plant-based meals. Trulie works with clients to help them meet their goals for healthy eating and food preparation.

Her areas of expertise include weight loss, diabetes, heart disease, allergies, cancer, pregnancy, lactation, vegetarian, raw, and vegan eating styles, athletic training, eating disorders, and children and infant nutrition.

She has worked as a staff dietitian for The Physicians Committee for Responsible in Washington , D.C. and was research coordinator for Dr. Neal Barnard' s revolutionary Program for Reversing Diabetes study. She is an experienced public speaker who can address a wide variety of health-related issues.

Trulie is currently offering 20% discount off the initial consultation and 50% off a computerized nutrient diet analysis. You can access these coupons through her website AtlantaNutrition.com.

Wisdom vs. intellect

2007-04-05T17:24:00.001-04:00

A couple of months ago, I conducted a workshop for a group of senior citizens. Like most of the workshops I offer, it was based upon concepts of healing and wellness and how they relate and can be applied to everyday life. Since this particular group was associated with a local church, the topic was healing and spirituality.

I must admit that, in preparation for the presentation, I wondered if I could properly convey concepts of holistic health and wellness to a generation that would have most likely been thoroughly marinated in the medical model. After all, I'd heard the statistic that the average person over fifty is on several medications, and I'd seen the proof of this on the intake forms in my office as well. Something I hadn't considered, however, turned out to be my biggest ally. When I got to the seminar, I quickly realized that people that have been around for more than a few decades tend to have a great deal of life experience.

Throughout our lives, we are constantly gathering information. Some is gathered first-hand and experiential, and some is what I would call intellectual information, since it is incorporated into our belief system after we read about it in a book or periodical, or learn about it from another person. While intellectual information can be an extremely valuable it can be a hindrance at times, especially if the information we're getting is incomplete or false.

For example, people tend to think something is true if they read about it on the internet, but we must consider the source of the information we are receiving before we can determine if it is true. For instance, we've always heard that milk is a good source of calcium for strong bones and teeth. What we may not have heard is that this information comes directly from the milk and dairy association. Since their profit margin is directly affected by whether we accept this information as true, there is a high possibility of bias in their reporting of the “facts.” It is likely that they neglect to mention that anyone over the age of three lacks the proper enzymes it takes to actually extract the calcium from dairy products and utilize it in the body.

Another thing to consider is that information is always changing, particularly when it comes to the human body. It's mind boggling to me when I hear that each year scientists learn more about the human body than known in all the previous years combined. If that's true, then conclusions drawn at any one time, including the most recent reporting, may also be incomplete.

If you ask ten different nutritionists about proper diet, you will likely get ten different answers. It all depends upon where they attained their information and how accurate it is at the time. Since we are all different, there may not be any one diet, exercise program, treatment or relationship that is right for everyone. Plus, what works for us at one point in our lives may not work in another.

Then how do we know what to believe and what to do?

A holistic practice helps us learn how to approach health and life from a place of wisdom and understanding as well as intellect. Since a belief is a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing, and beliefs change and may or may not be true, wisdom can only be gained through experience. If we can learn how to listen to our body and be guided by it, then we will not be at the mercy of our beliefs or someone else's. For once we have experienced something, we move from the realm of belief to one of knowing.

I love holistic concepts because not only do they make perfect sense, they apply to every aspect of life. Instead of thinking about them just as holistic concepts, we could refer to them as principles of life. This gave me just the gateway I needed to talk to the folks gathered at the seminar, for who would understand principles of life better than a group of seniors?

Experiencing the true vibrancy and beauty of life

2007-04-04T17:23:00.001-04:00

Each morning en route to the office, I have to make a left turn from Briarcliff on to Ponce De Leon. Anyone reading this who has to make the same turn knows that it's not an easy task since there's no turn signal at the traffic light. On one particular morning, I noticed a car across Ponce and facing me that was waiting to make a left turn in the opposite direction.

Unbeknownst to the woman in that car, another car was quickly approaching from behind. By the time the person in the approaching vehicle began to slow down, it was too late. The car waiting to make the left was struck from behind and sent rolling into the intersection.

Obviously, the driver of the approaching vehicle wasn't paying attention. In fact, I'm sure that's most likely how most of the accidents around the Atlanta area occur. As you know, it's easy to be preoccupied by any number of distractions of our modern culture. I'm sure most of us have experienced our thoughts drifting while driving or while performing any of our other daily tasks.

Clearly, the person in the approaching vehicle was thinking about some other situation, either in the past or the future, and not focusing his/her attention on the task of driving. You could describe this as a lack of presence.

Upon witnessing this incident, I remembered something Dr. Donald Epstein said. “All we can ever really do is to decide where we are going to focus our attention.” To put it another way, life is really about where we are choosing to place our focus, on a moment-to-moment basis. This principle holds true whether we focus on our body, our relationships with others or upon tasks we are performing.

Whenever we are not present, it is impossible for us to fully experience the true vibrancy or beauty of a situation. This is because our mind would be focused on a different place or time, even if it were imaginary. In this way we are missing the experience of life as it unfolds.

How would it affect our relationships if we could be more present and attentive to those we are with? How many accidents could we avoid? How much more productive could we be if our minds didn't wander off while we we're trying to complete a task or project? How different would life be if we were present enough to pick up on the subtle cues of our own body's wisdom?

If we could all work on being more present, I'm sure we would experience the world and each other is a much different and profound way.

Let your heart be your guide

2007-03-03T17:19:00.001-05:00

A couple of months ago, I attended a social gathering for of a group of people on the path to higher consciousness. When I arrived, there was a group of about twenty people gathered in the host's living room. Each person had an opportunity to speak about who s/he was, why s/he had attended and what goals s/he had. Several of the people spoke about how they were working toward living a more conscious life.

The phrase “conscious life” basically meant making healthier decisions for themselves, others they might influence and the environment. It was interesting to note that most all of them had a basic idea of what to do. It became a question of how they could actually implement their ideas in the context of the current cultural paradigm and their own patterned behaviors.

When my turn arrived, I felt compelled to talk about my personal and professional desire to help people become more connected to their hearts. I mentioned that living a conscious life was an automatic thing if one was to be more connected to him/her heart.

While many people may think that the heart is just an organ designed to pump blood through the body, it is so much more than that. Experts in the field of Neurocardiology claim the heart contains up to 60% or more neural tissue, the same kind of tissue found in our brains.

The heart, just like the brain, has intelligence, albeit different from cerebral intellect. The heart's intelligence is holistic rather than linear, and responds in the interest of well being, sending intuitive prompts for appropriate behavior to the brain's emotional system. The intellect can function independently from the heart – as in stress situations — and block the subtle signals of the heart. Remember, it is our emotional system, not intellect, that prompts us to take action.

If we as individuals and collectively as a culture were constantly in stress or survival mode, it would make it difficult if not impossible to benefit from the guidance of the heart's wisdom. One could argue this is the case as evidenced by the current state of our society.

Problems that have stemmed from intellect without wisdom cannot be solved by intellect alone. If we as a society are to overcome our challenges and become more kind to each other and our environment, we must first achieve a level of peace and connection to our own hearts. Environmentally and socially conscious choices would then be automatic.

Does holistic health work 100% of the time? Yes

2007-02-02T17:17:00.001-05:00

It has been said that healing is putting right relationships that have somehow come out of balance. Almost every day, I receive calls at the Center for Holistic Health from individuals inquiring about how holistic health can help them move beyond the symptoms they are experiencing. People wonder whether the answer to their problems lies in a particular herb or type of energy work. While it is true that these things may serve as vehicles to enhance the healing process, ultimately, there must be a change in how people perceive relationships — within themselves and with others — for true healing to occur.

I often find unique ways to invoke the concept of relationship in my practice, since it helps individuals understand body dynamics. For example, we can think about the different parts of our bodies as our children. When we don't pay enough attention to our children, or parts, they begin to act out in the form of symptoms. If we treat the symptoms without addressing their cause, that's like telling our children to just shut up. Chances are our children will continue to behave in ways designed to get our attention.

When working with practice participants, my first responsibility is to help them re-establish a connection or relationship with their own body. Please allow me to explain. The pre-frontal lobes, also known as the higher brain, are the most advanced part of the human brain. This area is also the residing place for expressions and perceptions of love, creativity, reason, purpose and self-assessment. Whenever the brain gets overwhelmed with either the content or the amount of information coming in, it will protect itself by disconnecting or shutting itself off from the undesired information.

This mechanism, called frontal lobe check out, is perfectly natural under stressful conditions. However, the overload of information is then stored in the body to be processed at a later time. When we experience extreme or prolonged stress, it becomes difficult for us recover from or even realize that this disconnect is occurring. Ultimately, if we are disconnected and don't have full access to our higher brain, we cannot truly be whole.

I teach people a technique called Somato-Respiratory Integration (SRI) to help them re-establish their connection or relationship to the body. SRI is essentially an exercise in presence directed into the body, since we must be present in order for any relationship to flourish. I'm reminded of a TV commercial in which a woman is trying to speak to her husband. He says, “I'm listening,” but his attention is completely focused on a football game. Likewise, if we direct all of our attention to the conversation in our head, there will be very little left over for the body. The key is to open up the lines of communication.

Just as people in successful, long-lasting relationships don't dwell on the negative in their partners, we must be able to listen to our bodies without judgment and proceed toward healing in an honoring and non-threatening manner. Keep in mind that symptoms are signals that something needs to be explored, and ask yourself, “How open am I to communicating with someone when the first thing s/he does is to establish that I am wrong?”

Given this kind of opposition, you'd most likely not be open to too much communication. Likewise, when working to develop a connection to an area of the body after some neglect it's important not to be too forceful. Only love can conquer hate, as it were, so instead of forcing areas that are stuck, my practice focuses upon enhancing areas that are more at ease. This enables them to exist in relation to, communicate with, and free parts of the body where energy is stuck.

Relationships are powerful tools for discovering greater aspects of the self. When true healing occurs, there is always something gained or learned from the experience even if we are unable or unwilling to see the lessons that are available for us in the moment.

Relationships and healing are also congruent in the area of personal growth since both involve a greater depth of experience. As we gain greater depth in our own healing process, we realize that healing is ultimately all about our relationship with our self and with others. Ultimately, the term holistic health encompasses our relationships to our body, other people, our environment and the whole web of life. Every judgment, action and inaction, attention and intent affects this web of life as well as our own lives.

Dr. Gene's Shortlist to Healthy Living

2007-01-02T17:16:00.000-05:00

I often receive phone calls or start new clients looking for advice about what to do to become healthier. Since every person is different and information about what the best diet or exercise program is always changing, I hesitate to give rote advice about what they should or shouldn't do. For that reason the focus of my wellness practice is to help people become more self aware and more in tune with what specific needs they have for their body and their life. With this approach they can navigate health decisions using logical concepts and by listening to their own body's needs.

That being said; there are some general concepts about treating the body well that I'd like to share. The following is a list of ideas that one can consider to enhance their health.

1. Breathe Deeply. Oxygen is the single most important thing that our cells need to stay alive and thrive. It sounds simple enough but the fact is that if you are not breathing deeply enough to open the diaphragm; you are not fully accessing the lower third of the lungs which contain a large percentage of the alveoli. These alveoli serve to exchange oxygen into the bloodstream.

2. Drink More Water. If you experience dry mouth or thirstiness or if your urine is not clear, then you are dehydrated. Some experts say we should drink at least half our body weight in ounces of water daily. One thing to consider is the purity of your drinking water. Since it is likely that most tap water is polluted, you will probably want to drink water that has been run through a reverse osmosis system for purity.

3. Eat More Whole and Raw Foods. There are valuable nutrients and enzymes that are destroyed when food is cooked. Raw foods are easier on our system as well.

4. Cut Down on the Toxins. The least amount of chemicals going into your body, the better off you'll be. There are chemicals in everything from our food to our personal products. Preservatives, artificial sweeteners, pesticides and hormones, drugs, alcohol are among the many toxins. You may not be able to get away from all of them but you can continually work toward eliminating them from your environment. Use natural products and eat organic food whenever possible. It is also a good idea to consider some kind of cleanse.

5. More Good Fats, Less Bad Fats. Make sure you get an adequate supply of essential fatty acids. Every cell in your body requires fats or lipids, especially brain cells. The good fats are the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids which can be derived from fish, flaxseed and olive oils, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Fats to be avoided include margarine, butter, cheese, eggs, milk, vegetable oils and shortening.

6. Consider Supplementing. On one hand there's a pretty good chance that even if we eat well, our foods probably don't have as much vitamins and minerals as they used to. The question becomes the quality of the supplement you take and whether you are actually able to absorb and utilize them. Supplementing is definitely something to consider though.

7. Keep your pH balanced. In order to function properly the body must maintain a very specific pH level. High acidity can lead to numerous health problems. Animal proteins, coffee, sugar and alcohol are a few of the things that create an acidic environment in the body. Try cutting down or out the acidic foods and adding lots of greens. Alkaline boosters can be taken to help balance the body pH. You can monitor your own pH using a simple litmus test.

8. Exercise. This one goes without saying but I figured I'd mention it anyway. Exercising decreases chances of high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease, while increasing energy levels and self esteem. I believe people are much better off engaging in an exercise that they actually enjoy.

9. Take Care of Your Body. Our modern lifestyle tends to create a significant amount of stress that gets stored in our bodies. If you don't take care of your body you can't trade it in for a new one. There are many types of bodywork available to help you release stress and tension from your body. Try some different types and find which of them work best for you.

10. Be Present. In my opinion, this is probably the most important thing you can do. The stress and resulting physiology created by continually replaying the past and worrying about the future is detrimental to physical and emotional well being.

There are probably many other things that can be added to this list and some things that you may disagree with. If you are looking to increase your health then they are worth exploring. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach either. Try one thing at a time if that works better for you. And if you need, you can always get help from a qualified natural health practitioner.

Good luck and have a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Beyond Maintenance is Wellness

2006-12-03T17:13:00.000-05:00

When I first began playing the guitar, I was happy just to hold the strings down enough to create a clean sound. Then I just wanted to learn a few simple songs. It wasn't long before I became bored with that and was prompted to learn more complicated chords and songs and even some lead guitar. I also remember aspiring to play out to an audience and being nervous about the prospect of doing so.

Someone asked me recently if I still got nervous playing on stage. I think there will always be a few butterflies, but nothing that would keep me from getting up there on stage. Remembering all this got me to thinking about my progression to that point, and how it made a nice analogy to wellness care and to life in general.

When I was in school, I learned about three basic phases of chiropractic care: crisis care, corrective care and maintenance or preventative care. Within this progression of care, we initially try to help a person out of pain or whatever symptom s/he is experiencing. The objective then becomes to get the spine back to acceptable functioning, and finally to maintain it in that state.

If you look back at your life, you'd likely recall times when you may have been satisfied with the person you'd developed into with regard to emotional maturity, financial success, spirituality or relationships. But consider this, would that same level of personal development serve you now?

For instance, think back to a time when you were in your late teens or early twenties. What was the quality of the romantic relationships you had at that time? What kinds of behaviors did you engage in when in relationship at that time? If you engaged in a new relationship today without having grown or changed at all, do you think your old behaviors would contribute to the success of your current relationship or one that you are presently seeking?

I'm sure your answer would be a resounding no, unless you're still in your teens. I suppose if you were forty and still had the mentality of a teen, you might want to date one.

I think that in most aspects of life it is part of human nature to continually grow and learn. Whether in playing sports, a musical instrument, academically, scientifically or in relationships it's natural for us to strive for more and more depth of experience.

Wellness care is much like life in that respect. The goal isn't to fix you, get you back to where you were, or even maintain you in any particular place. Wellness care is about developing more evolved strategies for adapting and thriving in life.

One of my practice participants asked me an interesting question the other day that was one of several impetuses for this article. He asked if people ever graduate from care. In other words, do people ever get to a place when they can stop care? I explained that people can and do stop care when they reached their goals… or if they haven't.

What makes wellness care different than maintenance care is the fact that one can continually grow and set and achieve new goals. In fact, the University of California found that, tracked over a nine year period, people receiving Network care appeared to have no ceiling to the level of wellness they could achieve based upon self reported outcomes.

In my own experience, I find that when I receive care my life is better. Not only do I feel better physically and emotionally, I also notice that I continually grow in all areas of my life. I often wonder if that's not what life is about.

Light my fire!

2006-11-19T17:07:00.001-05:00

I really wasn't nervous about it at all, since many of my classmates had reported doing it years before. In fact, I didn't even think about it at all until Tony Robbins began to talk about it in detail. He said that your basic stove may get up to about six or even seven hundred degrees while the hot coals we were to walk on that evening could be anywhere from twelve to twenty four hundred degrees. That little tidbit of information caught my attention.

The seminar I was attending was called “Unleash Your Power Within,” and it was directed toward breaking through the limitations we have that keep us from attaining our goals. The fire walk was really a metaphor for overcoming fears and perceived obstacles so that success, as defined by our goals, could be achieved. Hey, if you can walk on fire, what can't you do? The key to successfully making it across the course was to bring your self into, what Tony called, a “peak state.” It was also very important to remain focused, since failure to do so could result in burning your feet.

Throughout the weekend, we were asked to identify our goals and the limiting beliefs we have about achieving them; to develop strategies that create a different mindset and physisology to overcome those beliefs; and to create the ability to take ideas and convert them into action. I found it interesting that many of the concepts and strategies discussed were congruent to the types of ideas I share with my practice participants.

Most of us will, at least from time to time, have great ideas about what we want to do to achieve particular goals in our lives. Many times these goals never actually come to fruition. What's usually missing is the action step. The question then becomes, why or what is it that drives us to act? The answer is emotion. It's no coincidence that advertisements are directed toward eliciting our emotions. According to Robbins, researchers at the University of California found that monkeys could learn a task at an astoundingly greater rate when the pleasure centers of their brain were stimulated.

An easy way to achieve this peak emotional state is dancing to an upbeat song. Personally, I like to play the Jackson Five's I Want You Back or Sublime's Love is What I Got, before I affirm my goals for the day and my life. The more we achieve peak states, the more ingrained they become in our systems and the easier it is to re-access them. It's important to note that while people often feel like victims to their feelings, you may choose this state at any moment once you have a strategy to achieve it. Simply put, if you're feeling depressed, put on your favorite song and dance.

Another important step in the Robbins' workshop was for us was to identify how our limiting beliefs have affected our lives up to now and how they would affect us in the future if we didn't change them. Two of the most common and basic limiting beliefs we have are “I'm not good enough” and “I can't be loved.” It's easy to see how these types of beliefs might hinder our ability to achieve life goals. In the workshop, we went through a process of intensely focusing on the effects our limiting beliefs have had for us and really feeling this in our bodies. It was very similar to the “Suffering” stage from Donald Epstein's “Twelve Stages of Healing.” Robbins called this process Creating Leverage for Change. In other words, we must have the impetus for wanting to create a shift in our lives or we probably won't make it happen.

As I went through this process, focusing more and more on the negative outcomes my limiting beliefs have created in my life, I began to experience intense pain in my back. Upon reaching the pinnacle of this feeling, I shifted my physiology back to a peak state and began to visualize exactly what I wanted without the constraints of limiting beliefs. This part was very similar to Epstein's stage four, “reclaiming our power.” I was actually able to clearly visualize my ideal future, something that has eluded me for a majority of my life.

The seminar was a great reminder that we can choose our thoughts, state of physiology and the outcome of our lives. Now whenever I feel a little overwhelmed, I just think back to the moment before I walked across those hot coals, bring myself back to that mindset and realize that I can do anything I decide to do.

The questions we ask determine the answers we get?

2006-11-09T17:03:00.001-05:00

In his private practice in the early 80's, Dr. Donald Epstein found that very gentle touches to specific areas along the spine could result in significant changes in a person's physiology. In addition, the people he treated had amazing shifts in their consciousness and transformation in their lives. Since his technique adopted ideas from a number of chiropractic theories, he called it Network Chiropractic. By monitoring results through his clients' reported outcomes, Epstein found that clients were not sustaining the shifts or changes that they'd experienced in his care. Consequently, he's been continually modifying and adding to the work he now calls Network Spinal Analysis.

One, if not the most significant developments in the evolution of Network Care has been the emergence of the spinal gateway. A gateway is a point where the areas of rapport or relative free energy contacted by the practitioner become more and more energetically sensitive. Practitioner contacts to these gateways assist the central nervous system in moving from stress physiology and defense posture toward one of adaptive self-assessment and reorganization. As the gateway develops, it becomes so energetically sensitive that a person will begin to respond well before an actual contact is made. If you observe Network practitioners working, you will notice them mindfully approaching the gateway from as far as a few feet away before making contact. These gateways even become sensitive to the thoughts of the practitioner and the person receiving care.

Over the last several years, I have read numerous texts and publications about the connection, power and influence of thoughts upon perception and outcomes. Deepak Chopra, Ekhart Tolle, Edgar Cayce, Catherine Ponder, Joseph Chilton Pearce and Louise Hay are just a few authors that come to mind when thinking about this work. While each author has a slightly different spin, I think they would all agree that whatever we focus upon in our lives tends to expand. Negative thoughts produce negative outcomes and positive thoughts produce a positive life experience. I'm sure we can all think of people that constantly focus upon the drama of their lives and continually create more of the same. Conversely, people who are positive most of the time seem to have an easy flow about their lives.

There is a direct correlation between our state of mind and the questions that we ask ourselves. For instance, if a person who was depressed took notice, s/he would find that questions like, “Why is this happening to me?” or “What's wrong with me?” were at the forefront of his or her thinking. While there are very few people who don't feel down or depressed at times, and I can't think of too many people who truly like feeling that way, how often do we actually consider changing the questions?

Network Care is classified into progressing levels of care offering different strategies to correlate with a person's state at any given time, and Epstein has classified the different states people experience in the healing process, and ultimately in their lives, into four seasons: Discover, Transform, Awaken and Integrate.

Questions in the Discover season, or state, might include, “Why me?” “Why doesn't this end?” “Why did s/he do this to me?” and “Why do I keep doing this?” Questions in the Transform season, or state, might include, “How can I express more of my courage?” “What's on the other side?” and “How can I resolve this?” Finally, in Awaken and beyond, the questions might include, “How can I express more love?” “How can I grow the gratitude?” “What is the gift in this?” and “How can I more fully express my soul?”

As a practitioner, it is extremely important that I'm mindful and aware of my own state because it completely affects a participant's ability to progress. Basically, I have to monitor the questions in my own head while I'm working. For instance, if I'm working with people in the Transform level, attempting to bring them into Awaken, my questions must hold the space for that transition. If I ask myself, “How can I fix this?” which is a Discover question, it would actually hinder their progress to the next level. I actually would want to be asking an Awaken question to help move them from Transform to Awaken. By the same token, if participants are asking themselves Discover questions while working in Transformation, that will inhibit their progress as well.

In fact, the questions that we ask ourselves all the time in our daily lives completely affect our states of mind and existence. You can try this out for yourself. Spend the day tomorrow monitoring how you feel and what questions you are asking in you mind. If you don't like where you are, try changing the questions. Write me and let me know how it goes; I'd love to hear your feedback.

The reason we no we should but can't

2006-11-06T17:01:00.001-05:00

I remember someone saying to me long ago that everyone's got to have at least one vice. I don't know if this is true, but it certainly seems that most of us do. The other day when that memory recurred to me, I began to think about how many different things we do that are essentially patterned responses.

I've had clients who have taken seminars designed around breaking patterns. This, of course, was based on the idea that patterns are bad. I've often wondered why we have them in the first place if they are not good.

I can think of plenty of patterns, or habits that I have, that seem to work pretty well for me. For example, I've found that I like to shave immediately after showering, but only every other day, or my face gets irritated. After that, I apply a moisturizer but only after I've cleaned my ears with a Q-tip, since my fingers would be too slippery otherwise.

I realize this is light fare and not very exciting stuff to share, but it's a good example of some simple habits I have that serve me well. I think that's really the question we have to ask ourselves after all, “Does this habit/pattern serve me or does it not?”

Sometimes habits are not only what we do but what we think as well. We may habitually get angry about the things in our life that we don't like. While anger may be the catalyst for our change, it may also create a physiology that deteriorates our health and well-being.

Our habits are really just conditioned responses. They make life easier in some ways, because once we learn something, we don't have to go and figure it out all over again. In other words, once the higher brain figures something out, that information is stored in the lower brain for easy access. If this were not the case, we'd be so consumed with figuring out our everyday routines that it would be a challenge, if not impossible, just to get through that day.

Some habits that may have served us at a particular time in our life may no longer serve us now. For instance, if an authority figure repeatedly raised his or her hand and slapped you when you were a child, it wouldn't take long before you reacted to protect yourself. Years could pass and you might find that someone completely different may reach over you for a coffee cup and you would respond in the conditioned manner from childhood, even if there were no threat.

To give you another example, maybe someone teased you about an outfit you were wearing as a child. You might have had a perfectly justified protective emotional response at the time. As an adult, however, if someone makes an innocent comment about your outfit, and you respond emotionally, in the same manner you did as a child, before you even have time to consider their motive, it would be just another example of a patterned response.

I think we can agree that patterns can be good or bad depending upon the effect they have on our lives. This is important, because the fact is that most diseases are lifestyle related and could be altered if not completely avoided by simply changing our habits and patterns. What's amazing is that even though everyone already knows this, it's still difficult for most of us to do anything about it.

I believe that one of the reasons for this is the amount of stress that perpetuates our culture. Stress has many devastating effects on us, not the least of which is its gripping effect on our ability to change habits and patterns that no longer serve us. In fact, a great indicator of someone's wellness is in his or her ability to adapt and change to an ever-changing environment.

When we are stressed, we are essentially in a state of defense. In that state, we can't fully access our higher brain, which happens to be the part that helps us assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of our behaviors. We know what to do yet we can't seem to do it. I'm sure everyone has experienced this at one time or another.

It's good to see that many people are beginning to seek tools that can help them deal with life's stresses more effectively. I also see many more practitioners and centers offering a variety of different programs in this arena. I would encourage everyone to find places like the Center for Holistic Health that address these needs, monitors one's progression and ultimately do what feels right to them.

One's ability to develop tools to release and adapt to stress more effectively will ultimately translate into increased adaptability and a better quality of life.

Is that 'energy work'?

2006-11-02T16:59:00.001-05:00

I was manning our information table at the Atlanta Yoga Conference the other day when someone asked me, “Do you do energy work?” It's a question I've been asked many times in the past, and it seems simple enough, but my answer has changed several times over the last twelve years.

Initially, when I first began practicing, my answer to this question was a resounding, “No.” I didn't want to associate myself with “energy workers.” My stance was based on the ambiguity I perceived in most of the energy work that I had observed and experienced. This is not to say that it was in any way invalid. At that point, my focus was really in the physical and physiological realm, and I wasn't quite sure how energy tied into it. I also felt the term had a stigma associated with it that my mainstream clientele might shun.

After some time practicing, my answer shifted to, “Everything is energy work.” That was a pretty safe statement based on the fact that all physical matter, broken down to the molecular, atomic and subatomic levels, essentially is energy. I believe Einstein's famous E = MC 2 , supports this theory. Therefore, even if you are working in the physical realm, you are doing energy work, that is, if in fact Einstein's theory is true.

As I learned more and developed as a practitioner, I began to see how the tension that people held in their bodies was stuck, or stored energy. Through the physical, albeit extremely light, contacts I employed in my work, I could help the body to release that stuck tension, or energy. One could argue that this is indeed energy work.

In the last several years, I have come to realize the significance of energy and one's ability to really work with it. Given my former resistance, it's almost ironic that one of the main goals I have in working with clients is to help them become aware of their own energy.

While the physical matter that makes up our flesh and blood is really just energy, there is also a different energy that animates our physical body. You could think of the components of a light bulb, glass and filament, as your physical body. Obviously, without the electrical energy running through the filament, the bulb would not illuminate.

As human beings, we also have an energy that runs through, illuminates and animates us to the state we describe as life. If that energy becomes interrupted or blocked, the expression of life is inhibited. If it were to become completely blocked, there would be no life. Fortunately for us, it's not an all or nothing proposition. What is unfortunate is that most people are at least partially blocked.

After all this time I am still amazed to see the body take my input, consisting of light contacts and specific positioning, and reorganize itself to the point that it can dissipate stuck tension and energy. What's even more amazing is seeing how this release of energy can enhance a person's experience of life.

So now when I'm asked if I do energy work, I pause for a moment, smile and say, “Yes.”

How dare you hug in public!

2006-10-25T16:32:00.001-04:00

One of the many things a Gate provides is a wonderful sense of support and community. You will often see people hugging. I've heard Donny tell the story of how the hotel where they held the first Gate did not want them back because there were too many incidences of “unprovoked hugging.” HA! A friend sent me this video of related content; I hope you enjoy it.

Watch it here or on YouTube.

The Universe is Intereacting With You

2006-10-05T16:24:00.001-04:00

This past Labor Day weekend, I made my annual trip to Denver for the Transformational Gate healing seminars that are open to anyone in Network Care. For me, each Gate is a unique and wonderful healing experience. My past Gate experiences have always been inspiring, creative, awesome and fun; this year was no different.

I've always felt and have known that there is a cosmic connection that we all have the ability to tap into. I'm sure we've all had the experience of merely thinking of someone only to have them call that day. For me, this is a daily experience.

To give you an example, I just experienced this phenomenon moments ago. Earlier today, I was singing a few verses of a song to a friend to see if she knew the song I had referred to in our conversation. Just now, my thoughts wandered momentarily back to that episode and within a few seconds the same song began to play... out of a 1,700 song mix.

In The Biology of Transcendence, Joseph Chilton Pearce writes about idiot savants, people with well below average IQ's who are somehow able to access incredible amounts of information within a very narrow field. For instance, an automobile savant could name the make, model and year of every car in a crowded parking lot, with no prior knowledge of what cars were there or even an extensive knowledge of automobiles in general. There was a famous pair of “calendrical” savants who could tell you the day Easter fell on a thousand years ago. Again, these are people with no prior knowledge or even the capacity to understand any of the information they are conveying.

Pearce explains that, without the distraction of a constant thought stream, idiot savants can tune into informational “fields,” that are apparently out there and available, and become clear channels for information by using well-developed parts of their brains... Individuals like Edgar Cayce or Jesus must have been savants, just not idiots.

Earlier in August, I attended an SRI seminar that highlighted Epstein's twelve stages of healing. Some of you may know that I have been writing songs for the each of the twelve stages. If I sit down and try and write a song, it usually doesn't come to me. As Epstein was going over Stage Six, everyone's focus was on the same information. That's when it happened; in an instant I had the Stage Six song completely composed in my head. Where did it come from? I don't know but my best guess is that I tapped into an informational field created by the collective thoughts or consciousness of the group.

So, back to the Gate.... At the very end of the Gate seminar, they raffle off a certificate for a free Gate. Since I had brought a table with me, I was eligible to win. Just before they pulled the winning ticket, I turned to my friend Matt and said, “I won it.” Then, the moment before they drew the ticket, I knew that I had won. I felt it very distinctly in my body, as fleeting though it was. When my name was called, it was not so much surprising as it was a conformation what I had felt moments ago.

I've asked a couple of “participants” to share their experiences of the Gate. This was the first Transformational Gate for each of them.

The Transformational Gate
by Linda Lewis

I recently returned from my first Transformational Gate. What a wonderful experience! I doubt there is anything quite like it. It was all that I expected and more. Actually it is difficult to describe the Gate in words. It is something you feel, experience, and becomes a part of you. The Gate is a tremendous time of healing, change, and growth. And it is a lot of fun, too. It is like going to the biggest party you have ever been to, and being the guest of honor. And so is everyone there. Or a huge family reunion where everyone is so glad to see you, because you are a part of them. I am already looking forward to going again.

The entrainments are powerful, with so many being entrained at the same time. The energy in the room is incredible. There is a tremendous freedom in knowing you can feel and experience all that you need to in a loving, supportive, and nonjudgmental atmosphere. It is amazing to think of the amount of healing and transformation going on at the same time by so many. My heart felt like it would burst with gratitude just to be there.

As the weekend progresses, you realize how much is going on within yourself. Changes, growth, inspiration, liberation... so many things words are not enough to describe it all. Leaving unwanted patterns behind, gaining new strategies for truly living life in all its fullness. I experienced more love and compassion for myself and others. A wide open feeling for giving and receiving love. Feeling more often what I think of as bliss out of the blue, those times when I take a deep breath, and am flooded with a sense of joy and peace. Feeling more altogether. Sure, there are also more tears. That seems to go with the business of life. Seeing into the hearts of people, feeling their pain, and understanding. There was a time at the Gate during a singing meditation, the tears kept pouring down my face, and I knew they would never end. So I quietly went back to sit in a corner of the room. The next thing I knew several loving women had their arms around me. We hugged, we cried together. That's the Gate. It's a very loving, nurturing environment.

I also attended the SRI seminar. I wanted to stay for it not only to understand more about SRI so I could apply more of it in my life, but I anticipated it being a chance to assimilate the intensity of the Gate and relax before getting back to my routine. I was wrong! The seminar was also incredibly powerful and intense. We didn't just learn the 12 stages of Healing, we experienced them. I do SRI regularly, mostly the first 3 stages, the others in the book didn't seem to work for me as well. I will never doubt the benefits of SRI again. I wanted to get a better feel for my own rhythms. Now I seem to have more intuition, better instinct, for what I need to do with SRI and when. And I may go through several stages in a day. It works.

For myself, the Gate and SRI was a time of spiritual growth and connection. How one event can do so much still amazes me. I found places in myself that had shut down, closed off. Cracking through that armor doesn't always feel good, but oh, when it cracks open and the light shines in you and out of you, all you can do is bask in awe and gratitude.

At the Gate you laugh, you cry, you hug, you dance and you sing. It is a totally cleansing and fulfilling experience. I loved being there!

Swing, Gates, Swing
by Debora Ott

My friend Greg would snap his fingers and shout, “Swing, Gates. Swing,” whenever he'd hear a jazz riff that moved him and he'd pick up his guitar and jump in, like Double-Dutch, playing the changes and deepening the musical groove as it touched him from heart and soul. The explosion of notes blended bounced and rebounded with sound as it released from the players, shifting the energy in the room.

Last month, I attended my first Gate. Transformational as promised, filled with energy and sound. I got to jump in and play when my heart moved me. Got to jump in and play, tune up and in with 6 different NSA practitioners from around the country. In community, with row upon row of adjustment tables tended by angels, we got to be on the same sheet of music, rush without moving, be supported and encouraged to do the real work, learning to breathe like a slender reed in a whistling world.

Break it down: 2 plus days, rain, blue skies, mountains and sun. Fun. Six adjustments, SRI, Chi Gong, Yoga, Music, it was an end of summer camp for the soul. The Angel Wash, a final love note, was perfection. All the love coming back to me as I walked the line, eyes closed. A woman grabbed me and whispered, “Let your angel out,” and I did. There's nothing tentative about human nature, nothing tentative in the divine music of the soul.

The Gate
by Laurie Ledbetter

Wow, it is something... my body just feels so different. I had been having this major consciousness shift this past year with my studies in the Kabbalah that has taken me to a completely different reality. Now I feel like my body has caught up with it all, we are in sink. The heartmath is wonderful and is a great tool... but the "GATE” is like a total overhaul... Flushing out the shit... cleaning out the pipes... getting rid of a lifetime of calcification of the outer coating the soul. IT'S FREE AT LAST! Now the soul has got its body back! I definitely know where I will be spending at least one of my vacations every year. I think my next one is going to Eurogate at Como, Italy.

I wanna do it!

2006-09-21T16:21:00.001-04:00

At one point in his private practice in NY, Dr. Donald Epstein no longer found the term “patient” to be an appropriate or accurate description of the members of his wellness practice. He decided to hold a contest in his office to see who could come up with the best word to describe his clientele. In case you are wondering, the winning term was “practice member,” and from that point on Epstein began to call his patients “practice members.”

This was an important shift, since the word patient is defined in the dictionary as “someone who is under medical care or treatment,” and medical care is, of course, the diagnosis and treatment of symptoms or conditions. In the wellness model, a person may seek care without any need or desire for medical treatment. S/he may even be without symptoms, since many people seek wellness care purely for the life enhancing benefits that go along with that type of care. These benefits might include:

Better adaptation to stress

* Increased positive feelings
* Decreased moodiness
* Less depression
* More interest in life
* Fewer concerns about small things
* Improved ability to think and concentrate
* Less anxiety

As I struggled to find an accurate descriptive term for the people who participate in my wellness practice, I wasn't completely comfortable using the term “practice member”; something about it seemed a bit strange to me.

Clearly, “patient” won't do, and whenever someone says anything to me about “my patients,” my standard answer is, “I have no patients”. While it may be a marginal attempt at a humorous pun, it is also very true. I had begun using the term “client,” but even that doesn't sound quite right either.

I recently met a couple of chiropractors who had just opened an office nearby. Apparently, they are practicing in the wellness model because they came up with what I think is the best term yet — “participant.” They don't have patients, they have participants. I like it so much that I'm going to use it for my practice.

Participation is one of the most important aspects of a person seeking care in the wellness model. Normally, when someone sees their medical practitioner, they take more of a passive role in the process. I know I've mentioned before how many times I've heard someone say, “My doctor put me on this” or “My doctor gave me permission to do this.”

Do you remember being a kid and saying, “I wanna do it!”? As children we strived for the ability of and the right to self empowerment. We wanted to do it, whatever it was, for ourselves, and if for no other reason, then to prove we could.

In the wellness model, people are empowered in their own process. They are the decision makers. Instead of having a procedure done to them, the practitioner acts as more of a facilitator, guiding them through the process of healing. They begin to develop a trust and understanding of their own body and a deeper connection to their motivations and joy in life.

They are true participants in their process and in life... and from now on that is what I shall call them.

What does that have to do with me?

2006-09-18T16:19:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to see the debut of Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. The evidence presented in this movie about global warming and its effects upon the future of the planet gives us an extremely powerful wakeup call. At least one would think so.

Despite the evidence, which, by the way, is universally accepted in the scientific community, our government refuses to see that there is a major problem requiring drastic action. Their response is to call it a natural swing, even though scientists are reporting record breaking numbers for heat indexes and tropical storms across the board.

As I looked at satellite pictures showing the melting of the polar caps, I wondered how we could let it get this far without noticing the changes. More importantly, upon noticing the symptoms of our modern society, I wondered how we could have sat by passively without altering our path.

While the evidence was shocking, I can't honestly say I'm surprised by the extent of the situation or by most folks apathy regarding it. In my observation, people generally see symptoms as an inconvenience to be pushed aside or swept under the rug as quickly as possible. The mentality of our culture has universally influenced our perceptions and resulting behaviors to the point of critical proportions.

Part of wellness is having an ever increasing awareness of what our body needs and wants. The more acutely aware we are the less need for more drastic or intense signals or symptoms to effect change. Better to hear the lion's roar than to feel his breath, as it were. To put it another way, you don't want a heart attack to be the first sign that you're too stressed. Unfortunately for many, it is the first symptom they notice. Sometimes, even such a drastic sign is not enough to illicit change.

Another aspect of wellness is one's realization of the relationship to the bigger picture of life. You affect everything and everything in turn affects you. This includes your relationship to yourself, others, to our environment and planet. We are so intimately connected to our environment that its health and function directly effect our own.

Just as a majority of the population fails to heed the warning of their own symptoms as a need for change, so it is with the symptoms of the planet. Generally speaking, if we feel like we are not responsible for the symptoms that we experience in our bodies, it only makes sense that the same dynamic would (and does) play out when it comes to our responsibility to what happens to the planet.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine about which issues would determine his political vote. One of his issues was how the political out come would affect his financial picture. I pointed out to him that if this global conundrum wasn't quickly addressed the economic views of any given politician wouldn't matter much. Global warming and the associated change in weather patterns will have devastating effects upon countless species, human life and ultimately our economic stability.

From that standpoint, it doesn't really matter whether you're left, right, Conservative, Liberal, Democrat or Republican. All of our political, religious, economic and financial concerns are minuscule when measured against the fallout continued global warming will wreck upon our current way of life.

Unless you've been living under a rock, (and you might be doing just that to try and stay cool) then you've most likely seen all the news reports of record breaking heat around the country and world. If only we could ignore it, maybe it will go away?

But that's not what's happening. Countless species are heading for extinction because they are unable to adapt to the quickly changing environment. While many people don't really care too much about it now, they may change their tune when it begins to affect the food chain. Damage and claims due to the weather are continually increasing causing astronomical monetary and human losses.

How many people have stopped to consider what is going to happen if, and more likely when, the polar caps melt? A multitude of coastal cities will be under water. (It's already beginning to happen.) What effect is that going to have on our economy?

When the symptoms become too great to ignore in our bodies or on our planet, we will eventually come to the point where we will be forced to make a change... if it's not too late.

Time out!

2006-09-03T16:18:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting with some friends who have two young children. The mother was telling me that her son, who we'll call Johnny, had some challenges with focus and attention currently not significant enough to warrant the label of ADD/ADHD. When I inquired about which methods or strategies she used to deal with the situation I was pleasantly surprised.

Whenever Johnny has difficulty listening or focusing, she sends him to his room for what she called a “sensory time out.” He goes to his room and bounces his back on his bed five or six times. He can also hug himself, or someone else, real tight. The method basically helps him bring his attention into his body.

After listening to her I said, “Oh my God, that's just like SRI” (Somato-Respiratory Integration). Of course, SRI is a little more involved but the basic concept of connecting to the body is the same.

Whenever we are not present, which includes times of depression, anxiety or inability to focus, among many others; we are effectively having a conversation in our head. When our attention is on the conversation, we have very little attention or presence in our body.

SRI utilizes a combination of breath, movement and focused attention directed to specific parts of the body. One of the many results is a deeper connection to one's own internal body rhythms. As I say often, it is impossible to be focused on your body rhythms and mental conversation simultaneously.

In my experience, I would say that an overwhelming majority of the people I work with are quite “disconnected” from their bodies. This isn't all that surprising to me based upon how busy our lives have become. What is a little surprising and somewhat disturbing is the fact that this epidemic is even affecting our children. The increasing numbers of children being labeled with ADD/ADHD is sadly alarming.

It is good to see that at least some other disciplines are beginning to take a body centered approach to this problem. I encourage everyone, adult or child, to seek a system like SRI that helps develop simple tools for increased body awareness, connection and focus.

Do you ever feel out of synch?

2006-09-01T16:17:00.000-04:00

In his book, The Biology of Transcendence, Joseph Chilton Pearce discusses, among other things, how the millions of “frequency entrained” heart cells together create an electromagnetic field known as the heart energy.

I found his writings on this subject particularly interesting because the work we do with clients utilizing Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Resiratory Integration is based on exactly the principles Pearce illustrates.

He describes how a single heart cell placed under a microscope will pulsate evenly for a time before it eventually fibrillates and dies. When a second cell, also fibrillating, is placed in spatial proximity, the two cells actually stop fibrillating and resume their regular pulsing in synchrony with each other.

The fact that the two cells weren't touching indicates the presence of a field that appears to transform disorder into order, entraining to the rhythm of life. Pearce goes on to talk about the concept of entrainment:

When brain and heart frequencies entrain, they enter a synchronous, resonant, or coherent wave pattern. Though rare in adults, such entrainment is critical to full development of our human nature, and new research is revealing how this can be achieved. In the example opening this chapter, entrainment between two heart cells lifted them from chaos into order. The same entrainment of heart frequencies occurs between mother and infant during breast-feeding and other close body contact. In a state of full frequency match, the body, brain, and heart produce a single coherent frequency pulse or wave form, and a similar resonance occurs between infant and mother.

The heart certainly has intelligence, though this calls for a new definition of the word to differentiate it from cerebral intellect. The heart's intelligence is not verbal or linear or digital, as is the intellect of our head, but rather is a holistic capability that responds in the interest of well-being and continuity, sending to the brain's emotional system an intuitive prompt for appropriate behavior. Intellect, however, can function independently from the heart – that is, without intelligence — and can take over the circuitry and block the heart's more subtle signals.

The procedure that someone in Network Care receives is called an entrainment. The entrainment is designed to help a person to release defensive patterning and synchronize with the body's peaceful inherent signals. In this care, the body actually develops respiratory and muscular waves that break the patterned responses dictated by the previously locked structure.

If someone is in defense, and a majority of people are, it is difficult if not impossible to overcome the survival-based logic of the intellect and fully connect with the wisdom of the heart.

Energy of unresolved events, stresses and perceptions held in the body limit our flexibility as well as our ability to pick up the subtle but important internal cues that help us adapt to an ever-changing environment.

Advanced Network Care is all about bringing greater awareness and connection with the heart rhythm. As the heart signal becomes more pronounced, individuals receiving care report being more fully able to make healthier choices for themselves, being more compassionate, vital, creative, self aware, and responsible to human culture.

You're only hurting yourself

2006-07-10T16:11:00.000-04:00

This morning, just as I sat down to write this article, a telemarketer called and asked, “May I speak to the person in charge of your printer supplies?” I politely replied, “Can you please take us off your list?” He told me if I didn't want to receive phone calls I should just disconnect my phone, and then he hung up without giving me a chance to reply. I had to laugh at his logic though.

I found the incident particularly funny since I was going to write about telemarketing calls for this month's newsletter. Last week, I got a telemarketing call from someone representing a copier company. Since I've received calls from this company before, I recognized the script. It reads something like this: “This is John, yeah, we're sending out the catalog. We just need to check the serial number on your copier, could you check?”

Of course, I don't have a copier, which is what I told them the first several times I got the call. I usually try to be as pleasant as possible, but my mischievous side takes over now and again and I'm likely to say, “Copier, what are you talking about? Who did you say this was? I don't know what you're talking about.” I suppose it wasn't really right for me to have fun at the expense of the person on the other end of the line trying to make a living, but nobody's perfect.

The fact is I really feel disappointment for that person, not because he is making his living telemarketing, but because the script he is required to read leaves him doing it in a dishonest fashion. I imagine that he doesn't realize the significance of being out of integrity, but I have no doubt he experiences its effects.

Integrity is an aspect of wellness we don't often hear about since it is not often discussed.

I recall my good friend and colleague Dr. Wayne Leyshon referring to this many years ago when he said, “Your life doesn't work when you're out of integrity.” It immediately made sense to me even if I didn't understand how it tied into wellness at the time.

People experiencing greater wellness initially feel a more peaceful state of mind, less depression and anxiety, and an increase in positive feelings about themselves. As they progress, they report quality of life changes such as confidence in dealing with adversity, more guidance by their inner voice and, of course, compassion for others. I think it's safe to say that compassion and deceit are incongruent.

But here's the catch — while wellness means ever expanding levels of awareness in your body, your life and the world around you, the more wellness you are experiencing, the more intolerant you will be of things that are incongruent with your body, mind and soul. This concept can be expanded to include all of humanity. When I was a kid, I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read, “As long as there is oppression, no one can truly be free.” While I was certainly not in support of oppression, I didn't realize at the time how it had any effect on me. From a spiritual sense, we begin to realize that we all come from the same Source, and to hurt another is congruent to hurting yourself.

I don't think it's possible for someone to feel true compassion for others and, at the same time, try and trick or deceive them. When you are aware of your body you immediately feel your own physiological reaction to all of your thoughts and actions, positive or negative. When you are living and acting without (or “out of”) integrity, you can't experience a state of inner peace and the physiology indicative of it. When we have a physiology of dis-ease and a relative disconnection from really feeling our body, eventually we will experience some kind of symptom as a way for our body to get our attention.

By sacrificing his integrity in order to boost sales, the telemarketer is unknowingly deteriorating the quality of his own life. I don't know him personally, but I would be willing to bet that it is showing up in some fashion, whether in physical symptoms or life situations. My hope for him and for all of us is that we recognize the symptoms as signals for self reflection and change.

I can't commit to that: Making healthy choices

2006-07-02T16:08:00.001-04:00

One day a guy — let's call him Bill — called after having been referred to the Center for Holistic Health by a friend. Bill was experiencing back pain and was beginning to have trouble lifting his leg. Previously, when this had happened, Bill would see his chiropractor and that would take care of it. Bill then returned to his normal life. Only this time, it wasn't going away.

I invited him in for a consultation to further discuss his situation and determine some options. It turned out he'd been experiencing similar symptoms off and on for about fifteen years. He also shared with me that he'd been going through a particularly stressful time in his life.

I talked to Bill about how stress physiology and its global effects manifest in the body. He already knew that stress causes increased heart rate and blood pressure, shallow respiration and a tightening of the spinal muscles. He didn't even seem surprised to hear that it causes a reduced blood supply to the higher brain. This was probably because he was also experiencing some mental forgetfulness. Bill appeared to resonate with my description of Network Care and the effects it would have on stress physiology. Finally, he asked me how many visits he would need to commit to.

Those of you who know me or have read my articles understand that I'm not a proponent of the quick fix. We all shape our health over time. Since the factors involved in creating health — or dis-ease for that matter — are various and cumulative, why would we assume that years of patterns could be shifted and “fixed” instantly? In addition, the last thing I would want to do is remove his body's warning system without any learning or change in behavior on his part.

Based on his history, I told Bill that he'd most likely be looking at a couple of visits a week for several weeks to complete basic care. Bill said, in an extremely pleasant manner, “I have to be honest; I'm just not someone who can commit to that.” I appreciated his honesty, and, since I don't subscribe to the kill the messenger philosophy, I was able to tell him I had no attachment to his decision as to whether or not to begin care. Basically, he was saying that he had a history of not being able to commit to something like this and in order for him to do it he would have to change his normal behavior; he just wasn't sure he could do it. What is interesting here, of course, is the fact that Bill's inability to change and adapt in his life is most likely the cause of his discomfort, and exactly why he really needs care.

Clients have heard me say many times that the degree of flexibility in one's structure is directly proportional to the degree of flexibility in one's life, and this situation was a perfect example. Inflexibility in one's structure directly effects neuro-peptide binding on the cellular level. This, in turn, has an effect on one's available behavioral responses. For more information on the subject, refer to The Molecules of Emotion by Dr. Candice Pert.

Many times in life, we get attached to a story about ourselves, or an explanation of why things are the way they are regardless of the relevant truth. Our inability to change our story and adapt to the ever- changing landscape of life can wreck havoc on our physiology. If we are brought up with a particular belief system and those beliefs no longer work for us or match our evolved body/mind it creates a mental struggle and results in a defensive physiology and associated inflexibility of structure. Many of the symptoms we experience are a direct manifestation of this mechanism.

If we think about it and look back on our lives, how many times have we changed what we thought or believed about religion, politics, relationships and life? How many times have we reconsidered — in the light of new evidence or heightened awareness – what our choices might be? That is what you might call growth.

This is Dr. Gene. What's this Doctor's Specialty?

2006-06-20T16:06:00.001-04:00

Several months ago, a client took me to an open house where she worked. She had an awkward time introducing me because she was unable to explain our professional relationship. She said something like, “This is Dr. Gene Clerkin; he's my back doctor,” or “He helps me learn how to breathe.” While I love and appreciate her as a client, I couldn't help but think that if a great client — who I believe understands the benefits and methodology of this work — has trouble formulating a description of Network Care, then everyone else probably does too.

While most of our clients are successful in achieving their goals and are happy with the amazing results they can experience with care, they often can't explain it to other people. This is not the ideal situation for a referral-based practice using a methodology little known to the general public. That being said, I thought it would be helpful to share a couple of easy explanations for Network Care with you.

First, Network Care is a profound healing work that helps to the body transform from a state of stress physiology to one of ease, safety and wellness. People in Network Care experience significantly greater physical, emotional and psychological well-being. They also develop the ability to make healthier choices and have a happier more productive life.

Or one could simply say, Dr. Gene is my wellness coach. His techniques help me get more in tune with my body, reduce stress and enhance my life.

In God we trust: Vitalistic Principles

2006-06-08T16:00:00.001-04:00

The other day, I had a conversation with someone about healing which eventually became a conversation about spirituality. I recalled being back in school and working on cadavers. While staring in amazement at the masterpiece that is the human body, I remember very clearly saying to myself, “Wow, there's no way this just happened by mistake.” I believe that was one of the most defining moments of my future beliefs, personally, spiritually and professionally.

D.D. Palmer, the healer who created chiropractic, based his philosophy on a major premise. It states that there is a universal intelligence in all matter constantly giving to it all of its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence. In other words, without intelligence, matter could not exist. This sounds a little strange, but most theists might unknowingly agree and call that Universal Intelligence God.

I always liked the analogy that Reggie Gold, D.C. used to illustrate this principle. It went something like this: If we found a watch on the sidewalk, we could choose to believe that the elements in the structure of the watch came together randomly to create the intricate timepiece.

While anything is possible, I doubt most people would dispute the fact that the watch was, in fact, designed and assembled by the watchmaker. Why then would we think that the universe, in its grandeur, or the human body for that matter, could be anything but designed intelligently? Either the universe operates randomly or with intelligence as Palmer's premise supports.

If we do support that premise, then it must logically apply to all levels of the web of life. Our decisions about how we interpret our body's symptoms and what actions we might take are completely influenced by whether we trust what's happening. In other words, when we exhibit “symptoms” we all must ask, “Should I trust that my body knows what it is doing?”

One of the great things about having a major philosophical premise to work from is that it can be applied in all situations including how one eats, things one does for oneself, one's relationships, the environment, and everything else. People who are experiencing wellness have a tendency to trust in the process of life.

To me the principle is really a spiritual one that applies to all aspects of life. The question is, do we trust in the process, or are life's flavors met with fear and struggle?

*Note: This article is not meant to support either the creationist or evolutionist point of view.

Serendipidy: God's Guidance

2006-06-06T15:54:00.000-04:00

As people work toward developing strategies to increase wellness, they experience a wide array of positive changes. One of my favorite changes in clients is an increase in serendipitous events in their lives. It is a characteristic that increases in relation to the degree of wellness a person is experiencing. In reference to Network Care, it shows up more in higher levels of care or when a person develops greater somatic awareness and strategies.

Several years ago, I wanted to get a PA system. I had been playing guitar and singing for several years and wanted to take it to the next level. At the time, it seemed a rather large purchase and I was unsure about whether I could justify spending the money. I called several music stores to price the particular system I was interested in, until I found a store that had the system for three hundred dollars less than all the others. I decided to go there, check it out and see what happened.

I was able to hook up and try out the system, and since the guy at the counter was a musician as well I asked him to play a song so I could see if it was what I was looking for and get a better idea of the sound quality. After he finished, he mentioned that I could take the system home and return it if I didn't like it. I figured I had nothing to lose. When he rang up the charge for the system, he realized it was on sale and was going to cost even less than I had expected. He didn't get any argument from me.

Because he mentioned that he played regularly at a local Atlanta establishment, I asked him how he got started and what I could do to get some gigs. Another customer overheard our conversation and handed me the business card of a local booking agent. He said if I called him he could set me up with some paying gigs which I thought was quite fortuitous.

I paid for the system, loaded up the car and headed for home. When I turned on the radio, Poison's “Rose” was playing. It had been about ten years since the last time I heard that song, but what I thought was really interesting and significant was that it happened to be the same song the music store guy played for me when he demonstrated the system. I immediately took that a positive sign that I had made the right decision in purchasing the system.

Later on, I sent a demo tape to the booking agent and began playing out shortly thereafter. The PA system paid for itself in less than a couple of months. Because music has been such an enjoyable experience for me, it turned out to be one of the defining decisions of my life.

I share this story with you because most of the time when we have decisions to make we refer to the conversation in our head in which we repeat the same thought patterns over and over, for the answer. The other alternative, and one which occurs more frequently in someone experiencing wellness, is to refer to our bodies and to the serendipitous guidance provided by the universe.

When we are “in our heads” our thoughts and behaviors are usually associated with fear and stress physiology. When we are not stuck in our heads, our guidance comes from observation and trust which is less available in a stress physiology. One of the aspects of wellness is choosing to make decisions based on trust rather than fear. In a defensive physiology our decisions tend to be more survival based and the wisdom of the body and our connection to a transcendent source are less available.

Personally, I believe these serendipitous events are occurring all the time. We just have to be aware enough to realize they're happening. Once you are, these coincidences don't seem so random or strange anymore. It's nice to see and experience this as one of the many benefits of a greater degree of wellness.

Community: An important aspect of healing

2006-05-20T15:50:00.001-04:00

Every few months, the Network practitioners from the Southeast will get together and offer a “Clear Day.” Participants can do some yoga, SRI and have the opportunity to get entrained three times. Basically, it's a wonderful and gently structured day that is dedicated to peace and deepening your inner connection. Each time we have a Clear Day, I'm reminded of another important aspect of healing; building community. Sometimes, when we are on a personal healing journey, our friends or families don't really understand what we are engaged in so it's nice to connect with other individuals who do.

Seeing everyone interacting with each other at the last Clear Day, I was reminded about this very important aspect of a connected life - community. There is a banner posted in the bathroom at the Center that reads “How to Build Community”, followed by a hodgepodge of various community building ideas. I thought I would share them with you.

Turn Off Your TV, Leave Your House, Know Your Neighbors, Look Up When You Are Walking, Greet People, Sit On Your Stoop, Plant Flowers, Use Your Library, Play Together, Buy From Local Merchants, Share What You Have, Help A Lost Dog, Take Children To The Park, Garden Together, Support Neighborhood Schools, Fix It Even If You Didn't Break It, Have Pot Lucks, Honor Elders, Pick Up Litter, Read Stories Aloud, Dance In The Street, Talk To The Mail Carrier, Listen To The Birds, Put Up A Swing, Help Carry Something Heavy, Barter For Your Goods, Start A Tradition, Ask A Question, Hire Young People For Odd Jobs, Organize A Block Party, Bake Extra And Share, Ask For Help When You Need It, Open Your Shades, Sing Together, Share Your Skills, Take Back Your Night, Turn Up The Music, Turn Down The Music, Listen Before Your React To Anger, Mediate A Conflict, Seek To Understand, Learn From New And Uncomfortable Angles, Know That No One Is Silent Though Many Are Not Heard, Work To Change This.

List courtesy Syracuse Cultural Workers

Does Everyone Have Subluxation?

2006-05-03T15:47:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago I had a booth at a local town festival. At one point, a girl who looked to be in her mid twenties came up to me and said, “I already know what's wrong with my spine. I have subluxation.” She assumed, of course, that because I was stationed at the booth with a spine model that I was there to find out what was wrong with hers. In fact, I was actually out there to tell people how they could enhance their lives regardless of what, if anything was “wrong” with them. That's when I stopped bringing my spine model out to trade shows and festivals.

I had to chuckle to myself though. Apparently, the chiropractor she had gone to told her she had a condition called subluxation that would be a detriment to her health and wellness. While that was most likely true, the reality was and is that everybody has subluxations. Her chiropractor and every other chiropractor practicing could find the same condition in almost every single person that walked through their doors.

The fact is, that when you seek health practitioners' advice about symptoms you're experiencing, no matter what type of practice they have there's a pretty good chance they'll find what they're looking for within their own practices model for diagnosis and treatment. For example, if you see a medical doctor, s/he will find an imbalance in body chemistry. The acupuncturist will find blocked energy channels and a disturbance of chi, and the chiropractor will find misalignments of the spine altering nerve function and so on. There is nothing inherently wrong with this.

Our Decatur office is located very close to the ever-expanding Dekalb Medical Center. While driving by the other day, I noticed a sign out in front of the new maternity center that read “patients in labor.” Seemed normal enough at first, I guess, but it certainly speaks to a matter of perspective and brings up an interesting point.

By definition, the word “patient” refers to someone who, based on presenting symptoms and perhaps following a battery of tests, has been diagnosed, and is being treated for a disease or ailment. By using the word patient to describe women in labor, the implication is that having a baby is equivalent to having a disease or ailment. (This, by the way, is why I prefer to use the word client instead of patient.) In our culture, even birth and death have been pathologized when in fact they are as natural as natural can be. In fact, most symptoms that the body displays are not about what's “wrong,” rather they are created by the body to serve its own purpose and to convey information. One of the reasons I like offering a wellness approach is that it's not based on eliminating symptoms or having to find something wrong in order for it to be applied.

Most “health” modalities look at a symptom as an enemy that must be controlled and vanquished. Here's what author Donald Epstein has to say about our predisposition to avoid taking responsibility for our own health and listening to our bodies in his book “Healing Myths, Healing Magic”:

"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.”

The application of both Network Spinal Analysis and Somato-Respiratory Integration is based on enhancing the parts of the body that are working well. Most times, people in this type of care find resolution of their symptoms and the insight and strength to help them create the change that their body so desperately needs.

Stress! It's an epidemic!

2006-04-15T15:44:00.001-04:00

The other day, a man stopped in to the office to inquire about holistic care. When I asked him what his goals were, he said “I don't know. I'm basically healthy.” By healthy he meant that he'd only been on four different medications for the past twenty years. As we spoke, I noticed he constantly looked away and up in the air. He also had trouble maintaining his train of thought. After significant investigation, I was able to pry more information out of him – it turned out that his back, feet and ankles hurt every day.

I proceeded to perform an examination which, among other things, consisted of noting where and how much tension he was holding in his body and also to measure the level of his body awareness. I was not surprised to find all the parameters I use to measure tension were at their highest levels. As I went through this exam with the client, I pointed out the different areas of tension to help him establish body (somatic) awareness. The client couldn't feel anything.

When you think of it, it's amazing that anyone could have had that much tension and be absolutely unaware of it. This degree of disconnection is called Alexithymia. The chief manifestations are difficulty in describing or recognizing one's own emotions, a limited fantasy life, and general constriction in the affective life. Alexithymia is a disturbance in affective and cognitive functioning that is common in psychosomatic disorders, addictive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

People like this are generally rigid and unable to change or adapt. They are also less likely to be in tune with their environment and their relationships. Since they lack awareness and disregard their body's signals, they are unable to adapt or change even if their behavior or their life in general is not working.

While this particular client was one of the more extreme cases I've seen, this relative disconnection is quite common. In fact, almost every one I see has some degree of disconnection or lack of awareness in his or her body. The effect this has on our culture and society cannot be underestimated.

When we are in a perpetual stress mode, all of our attention is on the conversation in our head and we miss out on the subtle cues and wisdom of our body. This “disconnect” — which inhibits our ability to grow and adapt to an ever changing environment — is a detriment to us as individuals and to society as a whole. The very frightening fact is that this disconnection from our internal cues, our inherent rhythms and ultimately our humanity is at epidemic proportions. It is wrecking havoc with our physiology, our environment and our species. Someone should alert the authorities! Hey wait, that's us!

How to choose holistic health

2006-04-02T15:39:00.001-04:00

This morning, on the way to the office, I heard a story about a study that was conducted by the National Academy of Science which found that fluoride, which, as most know, has been added to our drinking supply to help strengthen our teeth and bones, might actually be harmful to us instead of being helpful for our teeth and bones as originally thought.

Every time I hear one of these studies I have to laugh to myself as I think, I could have told you that. But how would I know that without having done a study myself?

Very often, clients that consult with me are seeking advice about their diet, exercise program or what types of holistic procedures they should try. Instead of telling them what I think they should do, I prefer to arm them with the ability to reason their own solutions.

Many practitioners will give rote advice about diet and exercise regimens. That would be great if it weren't for the fact that no two people are the same. While a specific diet might be great for one person, it might not work for another. Then how do we know what's best for us?

I recommend a combination of sound reasoning and listening to your body for its own specific needs.

There are two basic methods of reasoning - inductive and deductive. Inductive reasoning is based on gathering bits of information, considering them, and then reaching a conclusion. Deductive reasoning is based on the logical thought progression from a major premise or accepted idea to smaller concepts or conclusions. If your major premise if faulty, you can expect that all other ideas stemming from it will be false too. Likewise, faulty bits of information would render inductive reasoning ineffective.

For example, there was a time when the accepted truth was that the world was flat. Anyone disagreeing would most likely be burned at the stake or at the very least be ridiculed. Now we know otherwise because every day as new knowledge is gained it replaces previous understandings and subsequent advice or procedures based upon those truths or understandings.

I heard once that every year scientists learn more about the human body than in all previous years combined. Given this, it might be worth noting that our current healthcare system leans heavily toward inductive reasoning. The Physicians Desk Reference, which is published by pharmaceutical companies, lists all information known about the medications they distribute including uses and side effects. It's interesting to note that the mode of action for almost all of the medications listed is unknown. In other words, they don't know how they work. Why not, you ask? Simply, because as much information as we have learned about the human body we still don't know much at all. If we did, then our healthcare system might not be in such shambles.

Great. So now what? If we can't rely on compiled information or conflicting research studies, how are we supposed to make healthy decisions for ourselves and our children? To sum it up in one word: Think!

Using a combination of inductive and deductive reasoning, we need to make conscious decisions based on what actually makes sense, not on what somebody else tells us. Information is a good thing, but it must be used with wisdom and common sense.

For instance, let's consider what we put into our bodies. We don't need a study to tell us that synthetics or chemicals ingested or absorbed in the body are going to be harmful. Logically, we would want to eat wholesome (preferably organic) foods and stay away from anything that has preservatives or other chemicals or food that is processed including fast food. Bottom line, you don't need a research study or a course in nutrition to deduce this.

Last, and most importantly, we must listen to what our body wants and needs. Remember, we are all unique and have different and specific requirements. No expert knows your body like you do. Most of my work is based on helping clients to develop an awareness of their body and its needs. When they develop that internal awareness then they automatically make healthier choices that are right for them.

A great spiritual teacher once said “You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or you can teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” Personally, I'd rather teach my clients how to fish for themselves.

The Law of Attraction

2006-02-05T15:30:00.001-05:00

I have an article taped to my bathroom wall that is positioned where I have no choice but to look at it every day. It contains several of what author Dr. John Amarro calls the laws of life. The first one is called the law of attention, and it states, “Whatever you focus your attention on will grow.”

As Network practitioners and SRI facilitators, my colleagues and I put this law into practice every day. Practitioners of most modalities, at least those that I'm aware of, approach their work differently – they find what is not working and attempt to fix it. In general, they will go to the area of most fixation or stuck energy in order to break it free. First comes the diagnosis, what is wrong, and then comes the treatment. We work in completely opposite manners.

Unless you've been living under a large rock, I'm sure you've heard the advice, “think positive.” That basically means put your focus on what is working in your life instead of what is not working. If your focus is always on what isn't working or what you don't have then that generally becomes and continues to be your reality.

Transferring this advice to the practice of wellness care, instead of going to the area of stuck energy, or what's not working, we look for the area of free energy or, what is working. The light contacts of Network are designed to bring the brain's attention to what we call spinal gateways. Basically, these are areas of report or places where the nerve system is willing to accept input. Because the brain is focused on the free energy, it begins to grow and that is what will dissolve the stuck energy parts.

Somato-Respiratory Integration (SRI) is a self-awareness tool that uses focus, breath and movement to help the brain become more connected to internal body rhythms. As in Network, we are not forcing areas that are stuck; rather we are finding the areas that are able to move and bringing the brain's attention to them. Once again, by keeping the focus on what is working those areas will expand and spread.

I find the analogy of relationships most helpful in explaining this to clients. If you and I are in a relationship and I ignore you for a period of time we become “disconnected.” If I want to have a good relationship with you, I'm bound to realize that ignoring you is not the way to make that happen so I decide to try and open up communication with you again. The problem is that you are likely to be apprehensive about opening back up to me. If I am too forceful, I may hinder any chance at all of re-establishing our relationship. A better strategy is to begin by creating some safety between us first. As you feel safer, you will be more likely to trust me and open up once more.

Most every client I share this analogy with seems to think it makes a lot of sense. This is, by the way, what the whole idea of wellness is based upon. Why is it then that a majority of people adhere to the fear-based medical model in matters regarding their health and life? Remember, whatever we focus upon will grow. If we are afraid of our body and afraid of life we will constantly struggle against it.

Can't you fix the pain first? Seeking Alternative Care

2006-01-20T15:35:00.001-05:00

Every so often, a client, especially one who's been to a chiropractor, will ask if I can “crack” their neck. My answer usually sounds something like this; “I could, but I'm not going to.” On the surface it might appear that I don't have compassion, but I assure you that I do have my reasons.

What would be the harm in a little thrust aimed at getting rid of the pain? In some ways there's no harm at all, but in other ways, it could be detrimental. I know that sounds a little extreme so allow me to explain.

Sometimes working within the Wellness model can take a bit of discipline. Since the medical or treatment model is by far the most prevalent model in our culture, most people expect you to practice in it even if you are a holistic or wellness practitioner.

To begin with, unlike treatment, wellness is not designed to fix you. It is designed to help you self-correct and create whatever change is needed in your life, among other things. For example, when raising children, if a parent always does everything for them and they never have to figure anything out for themselves, they will never learn and will most certainly have trouble becoming self-sufficient. Likewise, in a wellness practice, particularly with Network Care, instead of fixing a problem, a little guidance toward the source serves one better.

In the body and in life, if we are stuck or not moving, we need something to initiate change. If the energy is flowing properly in the body, it will then be available to create that change. When we are feeling pain, it almost always means there is stuck energy. A Network practitioner actually utilizes this stuck or stored energy as the fuel source to create change. Sometimes when an individual is in care s/he will begin to feel some discomfort as the brain becomes more aware and energy builds in her or his body. If we can help an individual access it, then it becomes their fuel for growth and change. The natural response, influenced by our culture, is to look for the practitioner to relieve the pain. I don't know too many practitioners, wellness-based or not, including me, who wouldn't like to “fix” it, but that one small thrust, or whatever procedure one might use, while easing the pain, might rob clients of an opportunity for transformation.

Just yesterday, I was confronted with a similar situation. This particular client had been progressing very nicely through care. The stuck energy had been steadily changing and moving up her spine and into her neck and she was feeling it. She immediately shared her uncomfortable symptoms with me, no doubt with hope that I could get rid of them. What we did instead was to work on helping her brain become more aware so it could do something with it. This will help her to create change in her structure which will ultimately help her create change in her life.

Of course, I did spend some time with her, explaining the concept which seemed to ease her concern and distrust of her body's process. I am no stranger to pain, and I know, from experience, that pain doesn't feel as bad as the fear that often accompanies it. It was interesting to watch her shift from a state of fear associated with “illness” behavior, to one with more trust, which is seen in wellness behavior.

The question always arises: “Can't you help get rid of the pain and then work on wellness?” Many do but, at what cost? In our culture we are constanty bombarded with the fix-it mentality of the medical model. While it is perfectly ok and even necessary at times to get “fixed,” it is completely opposite the wellness model. Wellness is about learning how to listen to what the body is trying to tell us through its symptoms. One small detour could, and most likely would, derail much of the education I've provided to my clients and deter them from making what could be a major change in their lives. As tempting as it would be to be all things to everyone, I think it's too important to ignore the bigger picture that healing has to offer.

The Prescription Drug Epidemic

2006-01-15T15:32:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday, I was sitting in Panera Bread in Emory Village and saw one student offering up her prescription bottle to another. I was glad to see the second student deny the offer with a hand gesture and a shake of her head. The incident reminded me of a news special on the increased use of drugs on college campuses I had seen a few months ago on television.

Of course these students were looking to get high and party a little, right? Wrong. These kids were taking "study drugs." Apparently, getting ahead in school has become so competitive that students are willing to go the route of prescription medications to get good grades and get an upper hand. Ritalin and Adderall, the most commonly used study drugs according to the program, both fall in the same family as the street drug, crystal meth or methamphetamine.

It is reported that these prescription drugs, which are normally prescribed to people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, help a student concentrate better and stay up all night studying if necessary. That's pretty handy when you're cramming for a test or finishing up a last minute paper. The problem is the long list of possible side effects that come along with this tidy package, including irregular heartbeat, very high blood pressure, anxiety, nervousness, headache, dizziness, insomnia, diarrhea, constipation, impotence, change in sex drive and liver damage.

What I find interesting is that most of the aforementioned side effects are the same symptoms that someone who is overstressed might experience. Understandably there's a lot of competition to achieve a high grade point average which ultimately could lead to a better job and more money. This, of course, means stress. It should be noted that the stress of doing better is the one thing that contributes the most the inability to do so.

When we're stressed, we essentially become disconnected from the higher brain. This has a significant effect on our ability to learn since that's the part of the brain that, among other things, assimilates new information. (I've discussed this concept in several previous articles.) It's no wonder these students are seeking learning enhancers, but the cycle of quick fix that these students are perpetuating to deal with what is going on inside of them is merely a reflection of the outside behavior of the rest of society..

Students may hear the “don't do drugs” message as preached by society, but what do they see? They see a society that is not driven by inner values, but one that is completely absorbed by outer or surface values. They've been indoctrinated in the belief that if it's not the “bad” or illegal drugs, then it's okay. Their parents' cabinets are filled with prescriptions, and they are bombarded with commercials telling them about medications to help them sleep, stay awake, get out of pain, ease their stomach, ease their anxiety and, yes, learn better. But what price will they pay?

On one hand, it seems a little ridiculous to me that our culture doesn't “get it,” but on the other hand, I can understand why. To begin with, pharmaceutical companies have woven a long-term and brilliant brain washing campaign into the fabric of a society that is already out of touch with their inherent ability to tap into their own potential. Couple this with the fact that the mechanistic or quick-fix philosophy seems to have a stronghold on modern society, and you have to wonder why people are even surprised when their kids use drugs.

What if these students were given alternative tools to release tension and better adapt to competitive educational stress? Maybe they would choose differently. I can only hope that our culture's small but growing number of vitalistic thinkers can begin to influence the beliefs and therefore the behaviors of students and society as a whole. Maybe that student who opted not to accept the study drugs that day at Panera is a sign of things come.

How We Create Mental Stress

2006-01-15T15:26:00.001-05:00

The other day, I was visiting with a friend and watching her daughter play with a slinky she had just gotten. She did all the things a child might do with a slinky, including pretending it was a jump rope. Unfortunately, the jump rope idea resulted in the slinky breaking in two. The girl looked at me, smiled, and said, “Look, now I have two.” What an enlightened perspective that was!

It reminded me of something I've repeated to my clients more than a few times. It's not about what happens, it's about your story about what happens. Your story is what determines your physiological response which, in turn, has a profound effect upon your health and your life.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a client, which illustrates this point perfectly. She felt she had been betrayed by people who were very close to her and wanted my opinion as to whether she was justified in her stance. I told her that I wouldn't comment on whether or not she was right and they were wrong. What I wanted to talk about was how it was affecting her- a question for which I already knew the answer.

Her response on the entrainment table was uncharacteristically subdued. When she got off the table, she asked me how I thought she did and I told her that I didn't think she was completely present. She agreed and proceeded to tell me how this drama was making her feel so badly.

When our story about how life or our life situations should have turned out doesn't match what actually happens, we tend to engage in an internal conversation about it. Whenever this happens, the physiology shifts to “defense” which makes it much harder to access the higher brain. This is important to consider, because the higher brain is the place where we assimilate new information or, if you will, a new story.

If the higher brain is unable to process information, it will be stored in the body and held as a physical anchor. Many of us walk around holding onto these anchors for years, if not our whole lives.

Even if we are justified, it's important to understand that it is our choice whether or not we decide to be offended. The problem with choosing to be offended is that, right or wrong, we are the ones who are negatively affected. On the other hand, if we step back and observe our response, we have the opportunity to change it. That doesn't mean we need to agree with what has happened, we just need to be mindful of what is happening to our body and its physiology. We need to make a choice.

I doubt that the little girl was very mindful of her physiology; however, she could have easily chosen to get upset about the slinky and she did not. It was nice to see her choose a story in which everything turned out alright.

An Epidemiological Phenomenon: Cardiovascular DIsease

2006-01-10T14:43:00.001-05:00

I made my annual trek north to New York over the holiday season to see my family and friends. It's always a time when I can connect and reflect upon how grateful I am for the people in my life. The familiar comfort and the strong feeling of peace and ease in my body that flowed from it reminded me of two things — just how important our relationships are in the landscape of our lives, and how comfort enables us to express our true selves and thereby sustain a healthy physiology. These realizations and reflections prompted me to write this article.

Once upon a time, a client of one of my colleagues insisted that he “didn't want to become dependant on anyone,” in relation to starting Network Care. My colleague responded by saying, “we all need each other.” I've thought about that statement many times over the last several years relative not only to my wellness practice, but to my personal life as well. The following study suggests that we really do need each other, for while we are able to survive alone, our relationships do play a major part in our ability to thrive.

The Center for Disease Control found that residents of a small town in Pennsylvania had the lowest incidence of cardiovascular disease in the country. Prior to their on-site investigation, they expected to find very health conscious, physically fit, vegetarians. What they found instead were drinking, smoking, relatively out of shape people who went home every Sunday for momma's home cooking. The CDC tracked these people for years and found that when they moved away from their home base, their incidence of cardiovascular disease returned to the national average. They determined that the socio-cultural family dynamic was the major factor in predicting cardiovascular disease.

I have a close friend who has a very strong family connection. In fact, they get together frequently and celebrate every important event in their lives. While I'm a bit envious of my friend, I do feel lucky to work in a profession that affords me many close relationships. In fact, I've said many times that my clients feel like family to me and I'm convinced that even if we do move away from our families we can strive to have the same type of connection with everyone in our lives.

From a spiritual perspective, it has been said that the Divine is present in all of us. It follows then, that by strengthening our connections to each other we are strengthening our connection to our Source. As the new year begins and we vow to eat better, exercise regularly and do more healthy things for ourselves, let us remember how important our relationships are as well.

Why don't New Year's resolutions work... for me?

2006-01-06T14:39:00.001-05:00

It used to be that resolutions were “in” insofar as they were the traditional thing to do with the arrival of the New Year. The usual suspects include: “This is the year that things are going to change for me;” or how about “I'm going to exercise more regularly, make healthier food choices and let go of some of the stress.” In the last couple of years I've heard people complain that they don't make New Year's resolutions anymore because they never keep them.

You want to do something though. Who doesn't want to break old patterns and experience growth and improvement in their life? But what can you do that really works? And why is it that sometimes, even though we want to create change, we just can't seem to, and even if we do it doesn't seem to last?

The sad fact is we live in a culture that doesn't support staying connected and in tune with our physiology and our internal cues. Conversely, it supports a perpetual state of stress physiology. I find it ironic that while healthy habits are good defenses against the ill effects of stress, it's the stress itself that increases the likelihood that we won't participate in them. Why?

Physiologically speaking, if you are stressed, the blood supply to the higher brain is diminished rendering it less accessible. Functions associated with this part of the brain include love, creativity, understanding, self-reflection and the ability to consciously alter behavior based upon it. If the functions of your higher brain are inhibited by a stress physiology, it stands to reason that your ability to follow through with your goals or resolutions will be compromised.

Our degree of wellness is closely linked with our physiology and our ability to adapt our behavior in response to new information. On his Lifetime Wellness CD series, Dr. Donald Epstein states that “People don't get well from making healthier lifestyle choices; people who are experiencing wellness will make healthier life choices because they are well.” Based on this statement, the inability to initiate and adopt healthy lifestyle choices would indicate, at least to some degree, a lack of wellness.

Logic dictates that if we want to create changes in our lives and make different choices, it behooves us to incorporate methods that enhance wellness. Then, if we wanted to make a resolution, we would have a better chance of actually achieving our goals. And if we didn't want to, those changes might just occur anyway.

Hang on! Not Just Surviving, Thriving

2005-12-04T14:34:00.001-05:00

When we greet someone it is quite common to ask, “How are you doing?” Other variations include what's up, what's going on and how have you been? Of course the standard answer is usually, “I'm fine,” “I'm okay,” “Pretty good” and my favorite, “I'm hanging in there.” My usual response to the latter is “Well, hang on.”

These less than enthusiastic responses remind me of the boiling frog story. This is a little gross but read on, there is a point. A few years back I heard about an experiment using frogs and water. First, a shallow pan of water was heated to boiling point and then a frog was dropped in. What do you think happened? He jumped out of course. Then a second frog was placed in a shallow pan of room temperature water, which was subsequently heated very slowly. Unfortunately for the second frog, the rise in temperature was so slow that by the time he realized it, he had become frog soup.

Now, I'm certainly not in favor of torturing frogs and to be honest with you, I don't even have the particulars of that experiment, but it does bring up an interesting parallel to how most people experience their life. In general, people don't lose their health, wellness and vitality all at once, like the first frog. It usually happens so slowly that we don't even realize its happening. If people were experiencing their optimal state and then, all of a sudden, were cast into experiencing their “normal” state, they would know something was drastically wrong.

So, when someone answers with the standard, “I'm fine,” what does that mean? It most likely means that they feel like they did the day before, and the day before that. Of course we know when we feel like crap, and in comparison, “fine” is certainly a whole lot better than that. Unfortunately, feeling okay has become the benchmark that most people have learned to settle with.

Usually when someone experiences symptoms they seek out a practitioner to help restore them to the state they were in before becoming symptomatic. Sometimes a practitioner will help maintain them in that state so the symptoms won't return. This way, instead of feeling bad, they can feel okay.

A wellness practitioner, on the other hand, would seek not just to restore them to their previous state, but to a higher level of functioning than they were previously experiencing. Besides, if you take the same path you'll land up in the same place. Unfortunately most people have forgotten what wellness feels like, so they settle for fine or just getting by. I've actually had people tell me they were in good health and then name the half dozen medications they were on in the same breath.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be like that. Everyone, no matter what his or her health condition, has the potential to experience a higher level of wellness. All they have to do is wake up and jump out of that slowly boiling pan of mediocrity they call their life.

So, don't just hang on... Rock on!

Is it Worth Investing in Wellness Care?

2005-12-02T14:29:00.001-05:00

It is not uncommon for people to make investments in their future. There are various areas in which one can invest. Many people will have a financial portfolio with stocks, bonds, IRA's and 401K's. They could invest in rare coins, art, real estate or any variety of other property, resources or material goods. People will also invest large amounts of time and resources in education for themselves and their children, in hopes of a better job and life.

While there are an endless variety of diverse types of investments they all have something in common. We hope that efforts made now will bear fruit and return to us not just what we put in, but a whole lot more. The term most commonly used for this in the financial world is growth.

There is a growing percentage of the population that is beginning to see their health as something they may want or need to invest in as well. The question then becomes, what is a good investment in our health? How much am I going to have to invest and what kind of return should I expect? One thing's for sure; if we don't invest in our health at all, we are almost completely assured of a poor return.

But what does a good return mean? For some it may mean that they live as long as possible, while for others it would be defined by the quality of life they had while they were alive. This is an important question to consider when deciding upon your mode of investment. The way I see it; there are basically three possible approaches we can take:

The first is to ignore it completely. I should hope that the people reading this right now can see the shortcoming of this strategy. While the marvels of modern medicine can do an amazing job of keeping people alive longer, it lacks greatly when it comes to the quality of life that accompanies this longevity. If you've spent any time in a nursing home, you need no convincing of that.

The second strategy would be to maintain our health. This is a seemingly sound strategy that a majority of investors are choosing these days. In all fairness it's a much better solution then the previous. There are, however, some pitfalls with this strategy.

If we were to stuff our money under the mattress and pull it out in twenty years, what do you think we'd find? We‘d have the same money we put in there two decades ago. By hiding the money in the mattress and not investing we would be able to maintain the same amount. The only problem with that is that we'd actually be losing money due to inflation.

Attempting to maintain our health is very similar. While it is much better than ignoring it completely it does not offer the potential for growth. Without strategies for growth our health slowly loses its value and cannot keep up with our aging bodies and all the toxins and stressors of a modern world. So, just maintaining our health means we are actually losing ground. All of our efforts become directed at not being sick or symptomatic.

There is yet another strategy that offers much more potential for growth. It is the strategy of wellness and with it comes the potential for so much more than maintenance. Wellness is not limited to maintenance of physical symptoms and sustaining the status quo. It is a strategy of growth and life enhancement. In addition to improved physical well-being, a wellness program must monitor an individual's ability to adapt to stress, their psychological and emotional well being, and their ability to make and maintain healthy lifestyle choices as well as their life enjoyment and quality of life. It means not just surviving but thriving and developing new and better strategies of adaptation for the present as well as the future.

So we must ask ourselves; is my wellness worth investing in and what is the best way to use my resources? Is getting by going to be enough to fulfill my current and future needs? Do I want more out of life and am I worth the investment? Obviously I'm a huge advocate of investing in Network Care as a wellness strategy because it enhances all the areas of wellness previously stated. Whatever you choose, educate yourself, ask these questions and invest wisely. You are worth it!

How can anger be good? The purpose of emotion

2005-12-01T14:17:00.001-05:00

One day not too long ago a client brought me an internet story from ABC news, entitled “Anger Is Good for You.” The study, conducted at Carnegie Mellon University, showed anger may help people reduce the negative impact of stress. At first glance this may seem surprising but, it really makes perfect sense.

I've heard people label some emotions, like happiness, joy, love and serenity as “good” and other emotions like anger, depression or sadness as “bad.” The truth is that emotions aren't good or bad, they just are. Some may be more pleasurable while others are less enjoyable, but all emotions serve a purpose. If they didn't we wouldn't have them.

Just today I was discussing with a client the concept of getting a deeper level of connection with her body. She was concerned because at times she had seen other clients in the office, receiving Network Care, have an emotional response. She said, “I don't want that to happen to me.” She had an idea that it would be a bad thing to have an emotional release.

Not everybody will have an emotional release on the table but if it happens it's a necessary experience in their healing process. See, emotions are how we move and release energy and that's good because stuck energy creates disharmony in the body. Plus, when we are “holding it in,” so to speak, we keep ourselves in the stress physiology. I've written about the many damaging effects of stress in past articles.

I remember how I felt shortly after the terrorist attack on September 11th. Between that event and my recent divorce I experienced so many different emotions; many of which didn't feel so good at the time. However, I don't remember ever feeling so much on such a deep level before that. Looking back I realize what a healing experience it was for me. It also became much easier for me to express emotions after that.

Emotions are an expression of a psychological, biological and physiological state. By the time you experience the emotion, you're already in that physiology. The emotion just helps you move that energy.

If you keep experiencing the same emotion habitually then you might want to take a closer look. The real problem is not the emotion; rather it is the mechanism behind why you are continually creating the same ones. One of the objectives of Network Care is to create more flexibility in the body structure which allows for a greater range of emotions and responses. You can read about this in detail in The Molecules of Emotion by Dr. Candace Pert. A greater range of expression means a greater depth of the experience of life.

In addition to helping us release energy and experience more depth, emotions, like other symptoms, motivate us to make changes. We change, not because of information, but because we feel. That's why advertisers use emotions to sell us their products.

So I say, “Express them if you've got them.”

And to quote Dr. Donald Epstein; “It's not about feeling better, it's about better feeling.”

The Patient Farmer

2005-11-22T14:07:00.001-05:00

The following story is about a farmer that has an incredible non-reactive perspective on life:

On the first day of the harvest, the farmer's great barn door broke off its hinges due to a massive rain and windstorm. The next day all of the neighbors gathered around to share their thoughts of sorrow, regret and shame. The farmer just looked at the broken door with a relaxed and almost ho-hum appearance and shared his summary of the situation by stating — Hmm, I guess we'll see. Now of course the farmer's neighbors were almost outraged by his relaxed and nonchalant attitude and they quickly scurried away with mumblings of gossip under their breath.

The next day the farmer's best horse got free and ran through the broken door of the barn and all the farmer could see was the horse galloping off into the sunset with a most joyous and carefree pace. Of course, as you can probably guess, the next day all of the neighbors gathered around to share their thoughts of sorrow, regret and shame. The farmer just looked at the empty stall where his best mare once stood with a relaxed and almost ho-hum appearance and shared his summary of the situation once again by stating — Hmm, I guess we'll see.

Now the next day the farmer was awoken by the loudest stampede he had ever heard and his favorite horse brought back ten of the wildest, and most dazzling wild mustangs that he had ever seen. His favorite horse went out for a night on the town and brought back friends! The next day all of the neighbors gathered around to share their thoughts of excitement, disbelief and wonder. The farmer just looked at his open field with 11 of the most extraordinary horses he had ever laid eyes upon and with a relaxed and almost ho-hum appearance he shared his summary of the situation once again by stating — Hmm, I guess we'll see.

The next day the farmer's son was willingly working away at the broken barn door, as he wanted to ensure that the new wild horses would at least stay within their plot of land and not run off again. As the son began to work on the barn door, one of the large wild mustangs bucked his way past the son and the wild horse knocked off the newly repaired hinges of the previously broken barn door and the door came crashing down upon the farmer's sons leg. The leg was surely broken. The next day all of the neighbors gathered around to share their thoughts of sorrow, regret and shame and they generously brought over cards of sympathy and fresh baked bread. The farmer just looked at his son's crushed leg with a compassionate grin and rubbed his son's neck; and with a relaxed and almost ho-hum appearance he shared his summary of the situation once again by stating — Hmm, I guess we'll see.

The next day the army came knocking on all the town's doors for a mandatory draft for the war and all the young men were called to obligatory duty. All of course except the farmer's son who was protected from the harm of the draft and the farmer looked at his son, his wife and the sky above and said out loud — Hmmm, now, I see.

At The Center for Holistic Health, we look at our body's symptoms in this same manner, as we acknowledge that sometimes discomfort is not always bad. In fact at times we find that discomfort is the catalyst needed to bring about a desirable change. How might we listen to this symptom so that it can be seen as a warning sign or cue? Perhaps one's relationship is challenging or out of balance and the stress is overwhelming the body. It is not always wise to simply want to "handle" the stress a little better for he or she may stay in the same compromised situation. Perhaps life generates that discomfort to awaken one to make change. Maybe one's employer is out of integrity and that lack of alignment is causing sleeplessness.

The moral of this story is that sometimes we need to step back to get a greater perspective. If we can maintain the attitude and intention of objectivity, sometimes by saying Hmm, we'll see, it allows us to see the blessings of gold at the end of the rainbow and not be overshadowed by the clouds that happen to appear.

Chiropractor or Energy Worker

2005-11-18T14:02:00.001-05:00

It's fairly common for me, as I'm sure it is for most people, to be in a social situation and be asked the question, “what do you do”? For most, I'm sure, the answer is quick and easy — I'm a doctor, or a lawyer, or an accountant or a teacher. For me, there doesn't seem to be an uncomplicated answer. I used to tell people that I was a chiropractor but that would immediately place me in a box that doesn't even come close to defining what I do.

The standard answer these days might sound something like this: I practice Network Care. It's a system designed to help people develop strategies of self-awareness, self-correction and personal growth. It consists of the light touch method, or Network Spinal Analysis, which uses the spine as an access point into the nervous system, and Somato-Respiratory Integration, which helps people connect to the body's natural rhythms. Of course, this can tend to produce anything from a blank stare to a look of complete bewilderment.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with my good friend and colleague Dr. Wayne Leyshon this past weekend. He had traveled from Charlottesville, Virginia, to attend a Network training seminar held here in Atlanta. I always enjoy our conversations which tend to revolve around our experiences and observations of various topics related to wellness and spirituality. One of the things we spoke about this weekend was what it is we're really doing when it comes to the application of Network Care.

It was mentioned at this weekend's seminar, that men and women will tend to have gender-related postural distortions caused by social stigmas of our culture. These postures become life long patterns of protection, all due to fears of our natural expression. Men, in particular, will have inflexibility in the hips because it is generally not accepted for a man to swing his hips when he walks. Women, on the other hand, will tend to display a posture with shoulders rotated forward. It was postulated that as young girls mature and begin to develop breasts, they can become somewhat self-conscious and even embarrassed about the changes occurring in their bodies. This would then cause them to hold a slumped posture to downplay the pubescent change.

Wayne shared a workshop experience he had attended some time ago. The whole idea of the workshop was to help people shed the “personality protection” they display to hide their true selves. The theory being that how we act most of the time is just that, an act to hide who we really are because of the fear of not being accepted. Some might call this the ego. According to Wayne , when the workshop attendees were able to shed their protection it was impossible not to feel love for each of them.

If you think about it, we can't truly experience relationship with someone else if we're hiding who we really are. It would be, at least to some degree, fake. This thought is a little frightening to me. When people are in perpetual stress physiologically, and most all are, they are operating from fear and are unable to let go and express who they really are. (Unless of course, they've had a few drinks at the office Christmas party) The body becomes rigid and inflexible in this physiology of fear or protection. In fact, there is a direct relationship between inflexibility in the body and in life.

It's true that Network Care helps people to develop strategies of self-awareness, correction and stress reduction. Statistically, and in my experience, people in Network Care deal with stress better, make healthier choices and have an overall increase in wellness and quality of life. While these benefits are amazing in and of themselves, there is an important aspect of health or wholeness that is even more significant, one that is frequently overlooked and that precedes them as a result of Network Care – the ability to express one's true self and just to be who you really are. Of course people are going to make healthier choices and a have higher quality of life when they're free to express who they are.

Network has been described by many as transformational because it is an amazing tool that enables people to shed their armor and become more connected to their true selves. Now when Wayne and I are posed with the question of what it is that we are really doing, we can say this: We are helping people to express who they really are.

Judgment; The Barrier to Harmony

2005-11-02T13:44:00.001-05:00

Over the past dozen or so years as I have developed my skills as a practitioner and my understanding as a healing facilitator, I've come to realize that certain concepts that pertain to healing relate in all other areas of life. In other words, there are universal concepts that apply not only to healing but to family, community, the environment, the world and spirituality as well. One of these concepts is judgment. A day rarely goes by in the office without visiting this concept, and just to make a distinction here, I am not talking about exercising good judgment in life choices; I am talking about being judgmental. What does this form of judgment have to do with healing?... just about everything.

Some of the most common comments I hear from clients (at least new ones) are “its right here,” meaning that's where it hurts, or “I have a bad ---” (you can fill in the body part). When someone labels a body part this way, they place an immediate judgment on said body part, as if it is bad or wrong. This myth is heavily supported by the very prevalent medical model.

Whenever the brain is overwhelmed with either the amount or content of information coming to it, that information has to be redirected to some other part of the body. The brain, in effect, disconnects and is protected from the offending information or energy. Many times, when some part of our body is hurting it's actually doing a job for us by dealing with or holding the energy that the brain can't deal with. And the pain you may feel might just be your body trying to let you know that you're not dealing with or resolving something that's going on in your life. If anything, we should be thanking the hip or back that's hurting instead of calling it bad. The energy transfer mechanism was a great short term strategy but eventually there is a need to reintegrate all the disconnected parts since true health can only occur when all the parts are communicating and in harmony.

Judgment is one of the most common pitfalls my clients run into when they are practicing SRI (Somato-Respiratory Integration), exercises designed to promote self-awareness and connection to internal body rhythms. They say, “It didn't work. I tried doing SRI but the pain wouldn't go away.” Well, SRI isn't supposed to eliminate physical pain. That would be like trying to eat soup with a fork. SRI is about promoting communication and harmony in the body; it is not about trying to shut your body up so the pain goes away and you don't have to listen.

Just to give you an example, if I had, at some point, severed my communication with you and later wanted to reconnect or re-establish our relationship, I would have to first make you feel safe to open yourself back up to me. If the first thing I say to you is that you're wrong, how open are you going to be to further communication? Not very, I would imagine. Most would agree that making someone wrong doesn't cultivate trust and safety of expression. But this is in effect what happens when we begin by casting judgment on our body. How can we expect to foster a relationship when we start by judging?

As soon as we come from judgment we are unable to objectively see another's point of view. Judgment creates a barrier to true harmony whether it is in your relationship with your body, the people in your life, your community or the world. What's interesting is that if you are truly in harmony in your own body it is impossible for your perceptions to come from judgment. You realize that there is a connection between judgment and health and that it is vital to recognize this to have a true experience of life on all levels.

Health Insurance Does Nothiing to Ensure Your Health

2005-10-15T13:40:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday mornings, I meet with a group of other small business owners for the purpose of networking and providing each other with client referrals. During the meeting, each member of the group will take a minute to share his or her specific specialty and expertise with the rest of the group. Many of the services are based on protection of a person's assets or material properties by way of financial planning, insurance or legal representation. For example, we have a member who provides insurance for home and auto and one who provides life, disability and long term care insurance. We have a financial advisor who helps people plan for their retirement and an attorney who, among other things, helps people plan for their death.

It is my sincere belief that all of these services are extremely important for the protection of a person's assets and the “material” quality of life to which s/he is accustomed. I also know, based on my relationship with these members, that all of the service providers are quality people who genuinely care about their customers' best interests. Interestingly enough, even though I support their cause, I usually tend to feel like the odd man out.

A couple of weeks ago the pension plan consultant said something to the effect of “Dr. Gene will help you live a longer life and I'll help you be prepared to afford it.” I quickly corrected him by saying that my interest was no so much in the length of someone's life but rather in the quality of one's life experiences before death. The reality of course is that nobody's getting out of this life alive. Besides that, death is not necessarily a pathological event — it's a part of life — and wellness care is not about avoiding death, it's about getting the most out of life until you die.

As I'm listening to each of the members state their case for the importance of insuring one's assets and one's “health,” I secretly wonder to myself; does anyone think about insuring the quality of their life right now, not to mention the effects on their health and quality of life for the future? While I wouldn't argue the need to have health or life insurance or to insure one's assets, I would like to point out that health insurance has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a person's health. The same would hold true for life insurance. It would be much more accurate to call them disease and death insurance because if you have a disease, or you die, the insurance company will pay.

Most people spend a major part of their adult life completely consumed with and worried about the financial aspects of their future, and then, by the time they get there, their whole life has passed them by and their health has suffered so much they can't even get to truly enjoy the experience of life. Pondering this paradox, I pose this question: What are you doing to insure the quality of your life right now and in your future? Make no mistake about it, the decisions and lifestyle choices you are currently making will, without a doubt, determine what your future health will be like.

Are natural cures holistic? Not necessarily

2005-09-18T13:35:00.001-04:00

The other day, I had a new client come in for her follow up visit and we went over the exam findings and discussed a plan of action. Near the end of this visit, we talked about the healing or wellness model versus the medical or treatment model. This was and is extremely important because if our goals were not congruent and we were not on the same page we would be setting ourselves up for disappointment later. Besides, I don't want to give clients something they don't want or fail to provide them with what they thought they were going to get by working with me.

The last thing I said to my client was, “If you want to be made comfortable and not change anything then this might not be the best place for you.” Out of context, I'm quite aware that my words sound a little harsh, but in reality, they came only after significant discussion of the concept of healing and I spoke the truth.

Almost everyday, someone calls the Center to say s/he is interested in a holistic way of treating whatever symptom it is that s/he has. What s/he doesn't realize is that as soon as the focus is on treating the symptom rather than the person then it automatically falls outside the realm of holistic care. I know that there are people reading this article right now who would disagree with me, and I suppose it is a matter of semantics, but in my opinion, the words health, holistic and even wellness have been polluted by the medical model.

Anyone who's been in the Center's bathroom in the last several months could not miss the quote from Dr. Donald Epstein that is posted on the wall: “The purpose of a symptom is to inspire a change in behavior... the more intense the symptom, the more immediate and radical the internal transformation required.” The basic idea here is that our bodies express symptoms in an effort to communicate to us that some sort of change in our life is required. The question then becomes, why wouldn't you want to treat the symptom?

I'm not so naïve to suggest that symptoms never need to be treated. However, I would suggest that we look a little deeper to the message that a symptom may be trying to give us. Maybe we need more sleep or less stress in our lives. Maybe we need to eat better or experience more peace, joy or love in our lives. Maybe traumatic events in our lives have caused us to become disconnected from our bodies and it's time to become whole again. Maybe our soul has a purpose that we are not fulfilling and the symptoms we are expressing are its way of communicating that to us.

It comes down to this: if a system is failing and you just pump different modalities into it — be they drugs, surgery, chiropractic, herbs, reiki or nutrition — it's still going to fail. While some of the modalities on this list would be considered by many to be holistic , it would be more accurate to call them natural cures or alternative medicine. In other words, if you are applying the medical model to treat a symptom it doesn't matter what you are using since the intent is still the same.

Contrary to popular opinion, the medical model is not failing because medical practitioners use harmful synthetic drugs or invasive surgical procedures, although that doesn't help the situation. It is failing because ultimately the body can't be shut up forever. Inevitably, the symptom(s) will come back or another more extreme symptom will be expressed in order to initiate change. One thing's for sure, I'm not going to be the one who attempts to shut off that warning signal. As far as I'm concerned, there are already plenty of practitioners out there doing that.

So when I make that brutally honest comment, I am speaking from a firm commitment to listen to the body and not do what other practitioners do when they try to shut the body up. The simple truth is that true healing creates change. True healing helps us become more connected and aware of the changes that are needed in our lives and not numbed to their signals. I believe a prospective client has the right to know this and to understand that holistic or wellness care is not alternative medicine but rather an alternative to medicine.

'I'm listening': Let the body be your guide

2005-09-15T13:32:00.001-04:00

Recently, I attended an advanced training seminar with Dr. Donald Epstein. Dr. Epstein, the founder of Network Spinal Analysis and Somato Respiratory Integration, has become quite renowned in circles of healing and wellness over time. As you may know, the application of Network is applied with a very light force/contact held at an area where the body has rapport, which means an area where the nervous system is willing to accept input. The contact is always held until there is a loss of rapport or the body says “you're done.” One of the things I enjoy most about Dr. Epstein's teaching technique is his use of analogies to illustrate his ideas, and he used the analogy of female energy to describe how long a practitioner should hold the contact.

While there are, of course, exceptions to the rule, men and women approach things a little differently. For instance, when a woman is communicating in the relationship she may just want to talk to her partner without looking for any particular solution. Generally, men want to know what the problem is so that a rational, logical solution can be arrived at as quickly as possible. The woman (or person with female energy) may really just want to vent. She doesn't necessarily want a quick solution; she may simply want someone to listen to her. In fact, the only answer she may want to hear is, “I'm listening; tell me more.”

While holding the contact points during the seminar, we would silently be saying “tell me more, tell me more” and using the male/female energy model Dr. Epstein had proposed to help determine the duration of the contact. In addition, we did Somato-Respiratory Integration - exercises designed to enhance the connection to internal rhythms — as a group. As I connected to my body, I remained open and said “I'm listening. Tell me more,” over and over again.

It was not too long after returning home that I had the opportunity to put this principle to the test in my own life. Those of you who know me know that I have, at times, experienced some significant joint pain and swelling in my knees, feet and wrist. The normal progression starts with one joint and moves to another after a few days. I have become keenly aware of what it feels like just prior to its manifestation. I had an experience with this not to long ago which I thought was very interesting and worth sharing.

Usually when I feel this developing, my thought process is “Oh no, please don't do this. I can't miss another day in the office.” This time I decided to take a different approach and instead of dreading it, I welcomed it as a message from my body and not just a painful nuisance. I placed my hands over my stomach and the area that was hurting and breathed in my nose and out my mouth silently repeating, “I'm listening,” over and over. As the pain intensified, I moaned and I cried and even laughed because it hurt so much, until finally it got to the point where it hurt so badly that it didn't hurt anymore. It became, for me, a spiritual experience. Even though I was in extreme pain, my mind was at ease and I surrendered to the moment until I eventually passed out.

This experience illustrates the concept of stage one in the healing process, “suffering.” It's very common for people to do the stage one SRI exercise in order to escape their suffering. The interesting thing here is that it doesn't work. You actually have to get into it in order to get out of it. In other words, instead of trying to avoid the experience, we need to truly experience the stage to gain whatever wisdom it has for us. This is contrary to our cultural story which tells us to avoid suffering at any cost.

From my past experience, I fully expected that I would have to cancel all of my appointments in the morning. When I awoke, I tentatively placed my foot on the floor. I felt a little stiff and slowly pulled myself up and put weight on my foot. To my surprise I could actually stand. In fact, the pain in my foot had almost completely resolved. The reason this was so surprising was that each time I had experienced this in the past, and it has been numerous times, the experience consisted of two to five days of pain, swelling, and couch time.

In the wellness or healing paradigm, I advise clients that symptoms are the body's call for attention and change and to listen to what message their body is trying to give them. All night I said to my body, “I'm listening, what do you want?” I never did get an answer. What I realized from this experience was that maybe sometimes we simply need to listen to our bodies, not to find an answer but rather to just simply listen.

I've known you all along: Our connection to each other

2005-09-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

It's Monday morning after the Transformational Gate and, since I have a few hours before the Somato-Respiratory Integration seminar begins, I thought I might share some experiences from this weekend with you. Because I have described the basic idea of this transformational weekend in an article in July's newsletter, I won't go into the logistics too deeply in this writing.

In the aforementioned article, I described the process of relinquishing the body's armor and the resulting flexibility in structure and consciousness which contributes to increased awareness, creativity, a feeling of connection, and a greater ability to experience love. After several Gates, one might think that this experience would be old news, but surprisingly, even to me, this is not the case at all. In fact, each time offers a greater level of depth to all of these experiences than the time before.

I heard that there were close to seven hundred participants in this weekend's program which is one of, if not the, largest number of people to be involved in a Transformational Gate. While two days did not offer enough time to personally meet and talk to everyone, there was, never the less, an unspoken connection among each and every attendee. It was what Donald Epstein refers to in his book, “The Twelve Stages of Healing,” as community.

When people are able to shed their armor, they are able to see past the surface to the heart and soul of one another. In this state, judgment gives way to a deepened vision of each individual's inner beauty. Community, in this sense, is the realization that we are all connected, as well as the feeling of pure love for people that we thought we didn't know. To put it another way, one transcends the illusion of separateness and realizes that we have known each other all along. I realize that this concept may sound far fetched to someone who has not experienced it. In addition, I don't believe our culture really has the words to describe the experience at all. If you have ever had the opportunity to realize this connection, you recognize it unmistakably.

At the end of the weekend, participants lined up in two rows facing one another. One at a time, with eyes closed, the person at the end of the row walked slowly down the aisle relying upon the guidance of fellow gaters to guide him or her as the entire group sang a nurturing song. As people walked though the group, they were showered with gentle touches and nurturing guidance. It's amazing to bask in the safety, trust, and pure love that are directed to you.

After this experience, as you walk around the room looking into the eyes of each and every person, you realize that although this may be the first time you met, you have known each other all along. There is a connection - soul to soul - and there are no words to truly describe this experience of community.

In light of ongoing world events and our collective responses, my thoughts keep returning to the idea that if we humans could achieve this “community” we might not only survive but thrive and evolve as a race. I believe it's the message that all the prophets and spiritual leaders in history have conveyed. When I hear the news of some less than desirable response to current events, particularly in New Orleans, it presents an even stronger case for our need to achieve community. While I know that this idea might seem obvious to most of the people reading this newsletter, it is my hope that it may initiate some of you to do a little more than you may normally do to promote community even if it is only to smile at the person you pass in the street. If you help or even just connect with a stranger, remember that they are not really a stranger... on the level of our souls, you have known them all along.

The Pitfalls of Filing Insurance

2005-08-15T13:13:00.001-04:00

The other day Jiang Li, our very popular Chinese doctor, inquired about joining an insurance network. She wanted to know if I belonged to any and what I thought about being a provider. I thought it might be an interesting topic to share with the general public.

Now, I'm not sure about how it is with acupuncture, but I can tell how it is for me. The one advantage I can think of is the possibility of increased exposure to policy holders. As I thought more about it, I found quite a few disadvantages.

One problem is that the insurance companies beat you up so bad. Allow me to explain. If you are an out of network provider, the deductible and co pays are significantly higher for clients than if you were “in network”. This effectively inhibits seeing the out of network provider. If, as a practitioner, you are “in network” you must agree to whatever terms the insurance company sets. Part of the agreement with the insurance company is that they're setting the “allowable” fee which, by the way, can be about 50% of the normal fee. The difference can not be charged to the policy holder, so the doctor eats it. In addition the time involved in verification, processing and follow up significantly raises a doctor's employee overhead. In our office, Mindy was spending so much time within that arena that it took time and energy away from taking care of the clients. (And me. :-))

The increased overhead is easier to absorb if your practice lies more in the therapeutic realm because you can add and bill for a number of other modalities each visit, including heat, ice, muscle stimulation, and therapeutic exercises. For the consumer that can mean a 30% co-pay on one hundred plus dollars instead of forty which will bring the co-pay up to and past the original forty dollar office visit.

Last but certainly not least is the simple fact that “health” insurance (it would more accurately be called disease insurance) does not pay for wellness care. Yes, I'm aware that some policies will pay for “alternative therapies." However, there must be a diagnosis and treatment of symptoms which automatically falls outside the realm of wellness. The real problem is the effect this has on the mindset of the practitioner and client.

If we are to render a diagnosis then we first have to make a judgment about a particular symptom. Once we judge the symptom as bad we must find a way to remove it. This is what they call the medical or treatment model, which has absolutely nothing to do with wellness. In fact, if a symptom has manifested to alert a person to the need for change, then treating the symptom would be the antithesis of wellness. That doesn't mean that it isn't ok to have symptoms treated at times. It's just impossible to do both. You've probably heard the saying, “you can't serve two masters." Well, trying to be in the treatment model and the wellness model simultaneously would be doing just that.

Over the last twelve years of practice I have noticed something very interesting. In general, clients who had insurance pay for their care did not get as good results as clients who didn't. I believe this to be due to fact that it perpetuates the idea that we are being fixed by the doctor instead of taking control and responsibility for our own healing process. In wellness the practitioner becomes the facilitator, not the fixer.

Working in the insurance game, and in the treatment model, undermines the fundamental understanding of wellness and it quite simply comes down to this: It's a game I can't win.

Our Physical and Mental Flexibility

2005-08-03T13:06:00.001-04:00

Recently a friend told me that his upcoming engagement had been called off. Understandably, he was feeling pretty down about the unfolding events. They were unable to meet on one particular issue which became the demise of the nuptials. In sharing this with me he said something that caught my attention and prompted this article. It went something like this; Yada, yada, yada, “that's just who I am.”

That was a pretty significant statement, and one which I'm sure most us have made at one time or another. Once we state who we are, then we have effectively absolved ourselves from considering any change or adaptation. Throughout our lives we develop patterns which protect us from the idea that life didn't go exactly according to our plan, which makes us inflexible to any other experience. I thought to myself, is it who we are or who we choose to be that defines us? It reminded me of a Billy Joel song called the “Angry Young Man.” I think the lyrics do a great job of explaining this phenomenon, so I included a few verses.

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl
and he's always at home with his back to the wall.
He's proud of the scars and the battles he's lost
He struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross
And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

Give a moment or two to the angry young man
With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand
He's been stabbed in the back, he's been misunderstood
It's a comfort to know his intentions are good
He sits in a room with a lock on the door
with his maps and his medals laid out of the floor
And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
He's never been able to learn from mistakes
He can't understand why his heart always breaks
His honor is pure, and his courage as well
he's fair and he's true, and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to his grave as an angry old man.

It is never about what happens; rather it is about our story about what happens that determines our response. There is also a direct relationship between the degree of flexibility in our structure (body) and the flexibility of our response. As far as my friend goes, who knows whether or not they were meant to be? I do know this: the body never lies and in this case the inflexibility I could feel in his spine was very apparent. My goal with each member of my practice is to help them gain a greater flexibility in their structure, so that they may more effectively adapt to the inevitable challenges and changes that come their way.

Cut the rope: The Fear of Healing

2005-07-12T13:03:00.001-04:00

In my experience over the last decade there is a point in a person's healing process when they begin to get in touch with their “stuff,” meaning their past wounds and information they could not previously process. Consequently that stuff is stored in the body as physical anchors or stuck energy. This connection most often occurs in mid level two of Network Care and is also the most common time for people to drop out of care. Holding on to old patterns that don't necessarily work for us is sometimes less scary then connecting and releasing them. I wrote the following song based not only my observations but from the experience of my own process.

You're afraid to want to go to deep; the hill you're sliding down's too steep
You're doing everything you can to keep from feeling it again
You don't want to cut the rope, let go and open up your heart.

The guard is always at the gate, pretending everything's ok
He's so strong but in his mind he don't realize he's blind
He don't want to cut the rope, let go and open up his heart.

There's a little child and he's crying, deep inside feels like he's dying
He's doing everything he can to keep from feeling it again
He don't want to cut the rope, let go and open up his heart.

Wonders of a Transformational Healing Gate

2005-07-11T13:00:00.001-04:00

The feeling or experience is difficult to put into words. You arrive on Friday evening and enter a room with approximately five hundred people, most of whom you don't know. So, what's the first thing you do? You begin to judge. She's fat, he's skinny, she's pretty, and he's weird looking. It's a virtually unconscious behavior. Sunday afternoon arrives, you look around and once again take inventory of the same five hundred people from Friday night, only this time everyone looks different. Without the filter of judgment, clouding the spirit, everyone looks beautiful. Quite amazing.

So, what happens in a two and a half day window of time that could effect one's perception in such a profound way?

To begin with, the Transformational Gate, a personal growth and healing seminar, uses a group dynamic to enhance the intensity and depth of the healing experience. Network Care, the main vehicle of the Gate, utilizes the vibration based principle of harmonic entrainment. Basically, energies that are synchronized are more efficient. When you have seventy five people in the same room being entrained together, the energy literally hits you in the face.

Using a frequency of three entrainments daily, talented practitioners guide participants through network levels of care and healing stages of consciousness at an accelerated rate. This greatly advances individual's healing strategies and can provide them with a deeper level of connection than they've previously experienced, opening the door of possibility to their future healing. The experience of connection....

There is a progression of strategies from release of tension in level one and pattern clearing in level two, to the growth and expansion available in the level three experience. Late in the level two strategy, there is a spontaneous expansion of the thoracic cavity and opening of the heart energy. This contributes intensely to a feeling of connection with not only the self, but other people and what might be called the web of life. Many schools of thought suggest that this is a time when connection with the transcendent self is heightened.

Personally, my creativity soared after the last Gate I attended. It took me all of about ten minutes to write a song on the plane ride home and I followed that up with about fifteen more songs in the next thirty days. For me, that was unprecedented. I'll never forget a very intense experience at my first Gate, a dozen years ago. At the end of an entrainment my whole body went numb and I collapsed to the floor in a complete state of peace, where I remained for about ten minutes. There was no concern and no fear about judgment and I recall existing in that state for about a month. It is after an experience like that, when you realize why this is called a Transformational Gate.

The next Transformational Gate offered by Wise World Seminars will be held September 2-4 in Denver, Colorado. If you are interested contact The Center For Holistic Health for more details, in a timely manner, because this event will sell out.

'It's not about feeling better... it's about better feeling.'

2005-07-07T12:34:00.000-04:00

I remember hearing Dr. Donald Epstein say, “It's not about feeling better, it's about better feeling.” At the time he was talking about chiropractic, or at least his version of it. Even back then I understood the idea of restoring life energy and connection in the body as opposed to fixation on symptom removal. I also knew that healing sometimes meant feeling, even if it doesn't always feel good. However, what I didn't understand was the depth of a statement like that in relation to our socio-cultural conditioning.

Somewhere, sometime in our culture we've adopted a story that we have held to be the truth. The story is that we must numb ourselves to this experience we call life and block our selves from having to feel anything painful, physically or emotionally. That sounds like a pretty good idea but I suspect it doesn't really work for us. Even so, it is often the case that cultural conditioning overrides the issue of whether or not any particular version of reality serves us.

I looked in the thesaurus for the word experience, and in the form of a verb it offered several replacements including to feel, go through, face, come in contact with, live through, suffer or undergo. So, it appears, according to this source, that if we are to experience life, then part of that experience might be to feel, or that feeling is part of the experience.

See, symptoms that we experience have a purpose and that purpose is to initiate a call for change. It means something is not working and change or adaptation is required. It just so happens that feeling is what prompts us to make a change (a concept advertisers are keenly aware of). Almost everyone that comes to see me with concern about a symptom has essentially the same story. They've tried one or several methods to get rid of “it” and either they haven't worked or have only worked temporarily. While the variety of methods is endless, the approach is fundamentally the same. They are all geared toward quelling the symptom. Of course nobody likes symptoms but if the symptom is a call for change, and we remove it without having contemplated the need to change any of our thoughts or behaviors then, we have effectively killed the messenger before receiving the message. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your perception, there will probably be more messages coming.

Whenever we experience a symptom, or any unpleasant feeling, our conditioning directs us into judging it as wrong. We systematically numb ourselves not only from that experience, but from the depth of the experience we call life. If you visit a wellness practitioner then the approach would be fundamentally different from the previously mentioned. When speaking of wellness, the methodology is one which promotes and supports adaptation and growth.

Intermediate care of Network Spinal Analysis is most commonly the time when we really begin to have a deeper experience of ourselves and a clearing of the physical anchors or patterns of unresolved energy. Along with it can come the fear of this deeper connection and retracing that will likely accompany the process.

Several months ago I read an article written by Cliff Bostick and was captured by something he wrote. “The wound's cure, the unbroken gaze of love, was scarier than enduring the pain of disconnection.” I took that to mean that it's our fear that drives us to avoid a deeper experience of life. This fear, fostered by our conditioning, is what ultimately keeps us from our healing. Well, I'm here to tell you this: Life is about better feeling.... And it's worth it!

The Optimists' Creed

2005-06-25T12:25:00.001-04:00

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Healing Has a Healing Effect

2005-06-15T12:23:00.001-04:00

When the Center for Holistic Health was founded it adopted as its logo a labyrinth held by two hands. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world.

The Center has been around for about a decade and has seen many changes. It has been blessed by many talented practitioners and wonderful clients. As adaptation and growth are an integral part of healing and wellness, it has been our honor as practitioners of the Center to guide and facilitate our clients in their process of healing and growth.

While everyone's healing process is somewhat of a personal journey it is important to note that the effects are not limited to that individual. One's state of health and wellness includes not only their physical well being but, their ability to adapt to stress and make positive choices, their emotional well being, their level of life enjoyment and overall quality of life. A few more specific qualities include openness to guidance by inner feelings, positive feelings about self, feeling open when relating to others, confidence in dealing with adversity, compassion for others, and the extent to which one adapts to change and handles the problems in life.

These qualities of wellness go beyond the confines of the physical state. Our degree of wellness determines our psychological state, affecting our level of inner peace, our mood and our responses not only to life situations but to fellow human beings. Making healthier choices, whether it be for our selves, in our relationships, in our environment, our communities or the world are a product of wellness. The less optimal our state of health and wellness, the less positive our responses and adaptations are going to be.

So, it could be said that our level of wellness has an impact, positive or negative, on the people around us, our society and world. Based on observation I think it would be safe to say that, on a community and planetary level, we are not displaying optimal wellness.

In the last few months the Center has adopted the ripple effect occurring on water's surface as a new image to accompany the labyrinth logo. It represents how our health affects everyone and everything around us. Collectively, the ripple created by each of us, interacting with countless others, determines the fabric of our world. Our vision at the Center for Holistic Health is to create a positive influence on our planet by helping individuals reach their optimal wellness potential. We welcome you to join us in that vision.

Your Perception is Your Reality!

2005-06-03T12:14:00.001-04:00

For mind is the builder and that which we think upon may become crimes or miracles. For thoughts are things and as their currents run through the environs of an entity's experience these become barriers or steppingstones, dependent upon the manner in which these are laid as it were. — Edgar Cayce

One of the most inspiring things to me about practicing Network is the effect it has upon people's perception. In fact, perception is, without a doubt, the most important aspect of health in the wellness model. Now, you might say, “that's perception, not reality,” but the reality is that perception is everything.

Whatever the brain perceives, in effect becomes its reality. The brain doesn't know the difference. Based on its perception, it will cause the body to release certain chemicals, which in turn cause our physiological responses. This is important because everything we feel; every mood and emotion is completely dependent upon the release of these chemicals called neuropeptides.

If a man, for example, was to force himself upon a woman and persist in touching her private areas against her will, she would release certain body chemicals. These “stress” chemicals would eventually make her sick, especially if she could not properly deal with this trauma. It has been well documented that this can be related to disease processes in the sexual organs as well as emotional problems and their effect on future relationships.

If someone else came along and was invited to do the same, the woman would release completely different chemicals. Not only would they not make her sick but, she would experience ecstasy and healing. And the difference is, of course, her perception of the event.

Now, this is an extreme example of what occurs constantly throughout every day of our lives. We are continually experiencing different situations which can be perceived in different ways, positive or negative. It's the “glass if half empty or half full” scenario. The question then becomes; what determines our perception?

As we go through life our brain has to repeatedly process our experiences. If these experiences, either in content or amount, are deemed unsafe by the brain, it will shield itself from that experience by creating a physical anchor in the body. In other words, it will store the information until a later time when it can be dealt with. It's the brain's safety mechanism to protect itself.

It might also be noted that when the brain is protecting itself it creates a defensive physiology. One aspect of this stress physiology is its diminishing effect upon the blood supply to the cerebral cortex. Among other things, this “higher” part of the brain interprets information and input, which helps you decide you're most appropriate response. In the stress mode, you cannot fully access that part of the brain which means, your responses become essentially unconscious.

We all know people, usually the ones that are closest to us, that can push our buttons. Our buttons, as it were, are the physical anchors of our past experiences. These physical anchors become the basis for all the patterns we experience in our lives. In fact, we cannot objectively perceive anything new, but through the filter of our past experiences. And remember, our perception creates the chemistry that determines everything about the experience of our lives. Wow, this is pretty deep.

When monitoring someone for “wellness” we must look beyond the normal physical measures. How a person feels about themselves is just as, if not more important than anything that can be measured in a physical exam. Aspects such as a person's ability to deal with stress, their emotional and psychological well being, their life enjoyment and overall quality of life are an integral part of wellness.

It was noted in a study conducted by the University of California at Irvine, that people in Network care have doubled the perceived wellness than if they just adopted healthy lifestyle practices alone. Translation, if you eat your green beans and do your exercise but you're still, stressed, anxious, depressed or just down right miserable, your overall wellness doesn't really increase all that much. That's not to say that those practices aren't positive, but the reality is this: As far as your experience of life goes, it's not what you're eating — it's what's eating you.

I don't want to be responsible for me! Stage Two Polarity

2005-05-20T12:10:00.000-04:00

As we evolve through our life we experience different stages of our healing process. In his book “The Twelve Stages of Healing,” Dr. Donald Epstein describes and classifies the stages he's observed by working with thousands of practice members. Most people experience life through one of two stages. Stage one is called “suffering” and Stage two is called “polarity." The following is a song I've written about the stage and state of mind that Epstein describes as polarity.

I've got this great new doctor, he's going to fix me up and take away all the pain. He can cure me, he's so wonderful and I don't got to be responsible for me.

I've got this great new girlfriend, she going to make me feel so good about myself. She's so pretty and wonderful and I don't got to be responsible for me.

I've got this great new religion; it's going to save me and keep me from going to hell. The promise is so wonderful and I don't got to be responsible for me.

I've got to find a new doctor, the pain is back and I'm feeling it all over again. I've got to get a new girlfriend, cause she turned out to be nothing but more of the same. I've got to find a new religion; the one I've got is not fitting into my plans…

'Cause I don't want to be responsible for me.

Unlike the suffering stage, where we feel helpless and hopeless, in stage two “polarity,” we have gained some power. However the power of our state of mind is placed out side of us and eventually fails us. Never the less it is a step toward the realization that we are responsible for our state of wellness and can take our power back. (Stages three and four)

What's your (cultural) story? The brainwashing of the human race

2005-05-16T12:07:00.001-04:00

Not a day goes by anymore when I don't hear a television or radio commercial promoting the use of drugs. Of course, I mean prescription drugs. They certainly wouldn't allow commercials promoting the “bad” drugs. Yes, I know I have a bit of a sarcastic streak.

So, the commercial goes on to say how the drug they're marketing can take care of whatever symptoms you're having whether it be migraine headaches, allergies or acid reflux, depending on the brand. Oh, and let's not forget the “social disorders” like depression, anger and anxiety disorders. Psychotropic drugs are amongst the most popularly prescribed meds.

Near the end of the commercial, if listen real hard, you will hear a monotone voice list the possible side effects, many of which would concern me more than the original symptom. Headaches, back pain and dry mouth are seemingly harmless compared with constipation, abdominal bleeding and possible liver failure. There's something I believe, at least on some level, is even more harmful than the physical side effects of these prescription medications.

The cultural parameters of society tend to dictate the belief systems and behavior of its people. To put it another way, truth is whatever the cultural story says it is. For instance, there's was a time when it was culturally accepted that the world was flat. Based on current knowledge, that may seem a bit ridiculous, but at the time that was the belief. This concept still holds true today.

Society's belief about health and the body's expression of symptoms is dominated by a cultural story called the medical model. In this model, any symptom the body displays is judged as wrong, then named and treated. Some people reading this might be thinking, “of course, who wants to have symptoms, and what's wrong with treating them?” Let's look at an example of this story.

Jane falls in love, gets married at a young age and has a couple of kids. Eventually things don't work out and she finds herself divorced, working a job she doesn't like and running the kids around to all their activities. There is little time left for her own needs, including the things that make her soul sing. At the end of the day she usually has a headache which can be dulled with an over the counter pain killer. Sometimes, when the stress is really bad, she gets migraines. But she has a prescription for that. It doesn't work too well. The only good thing about the headaches is that they keep her mind off her discontent and depression about her life. Her doctor put her on a happy pill that effectively numbs and keeps her from feeling, pretty much, anything. As the stress builds she experiences tension and pain in her neck and shoulders. She goes to the chiropractor, gets “manipulated”, and feels almost totally better. After a while the chiropractic doesn't seem to work anymore. Ironically her annual physical results in a clean bill of health, yet she just doesn't feel as good as she'd like.

I could go on with this story but I think you get the point. Unfortunately, for most people, this story continues with no change in direction. Why? It is because they unknowingly bought into what is currently the predominant cultural story. One in which we are victims of the bad symptoms which are a result of bad luck or bad genetics. We go to the medical doctor, who is the high priest of this story. He diagnoses the symptom, prescribes the cure and helps numb us from the feeling of our life. And we are under the illusion that if we don't feel it we'll be better off. The only problem is that the symptoms keep coming; only they get louder and harder to quell. Meanwhile we live our life steeped in fear, anxiety and the vigilance of survival.

Somehow we have been brainwashed and misled. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, one of five teens has abused prescription medications. Is it because they're bad kids or is it because they've been bombarded with the cultural message that says we should use medications to numb ourselves?

There is another, albeit less popular, cultural story that is beginning to emerge. It is called the story of the wellness. In this model we look at symptoms a little differently. They are not just something that's wrong and needs to be fixed, rather they are an expression of an amazing intelligence we call life. They are a way in which our body can alert us to the need for change. Maybe that change is in our diet, or in our relationships, or in how we respond to our environment, or maybe even in our life's purpose.

We, as Network practitioners and SRI facilitators, present to our clients as the storytellers of an emerging culture. We tell the cultural story of wellness and provide them with the tools to support it. In this story we do not fear our bodies and our symptoms; rather we use their wisdom to guide us in the choices of life. We become empowered in our own process. Our practitioners are facilitators, not fixers. It is a story that can help us evolve as individuals and a society. Sounds like a pretty good story to me. It kind of makes you wonder why it hasn't caught on.

The difference between illness and disease

2005-05-15T12:03:00.001-04:00

Most people probably don't know this, but there is a difference between illness and having a disease. There are many people that have no presentable disease symptoms yet they are very ill. Some people have a disease and are well at the same time. How can that be? How can someone have a disease and be well all at the same time?

I've heard that quite a few people have recently endured the cleansing that may occur in conjunction with some flu or virus. Apparently it can be pretty uncomfortable. The other day one of my clients who survived this bout commented on her experience. Even though she felt physically horrible, she experienced it from a different perspective than in the past. She had trust that her body knew exactly what it was doing to cleanse itself. Instead of having the feeling of being victimized she felt empowered by the process.

That is a perfect example of wellness behavior.

Illness is not about the symptom; rather it is about the state of mind a person has about that symptom, and for that matter, every other aspect of their life. In illness behavior we react to the processes of the body and of life with fear. Wait a second…we were talking about symptoms and sickness and now we're talking about life?

I also have another client who had recently been confronted with some very major life challenges. A good many people would respond to her situation by shutting down and going into a defensive or protective physiology repeating the cycle of unending anxiety and depression about the present situation. We call that “stage one” in the healing process. So what did she say? Loosely quoted, “I know this will be a challenge but, I'm sure there is a reason for this and that ultimately it creates new opportunities for change and growth.”

Wow, now that is wellness behavior.

Protective or defensive physiology does not allow for that kind of response. When we're in stress physiology the part of the brain that allows for a conscious observation and healthy response is unavailable. Since we're only accessing the lower or reactive part of our brain, our responses are skewed by the filter of our past wounds.

When we experience a situation that is deemed unsafe, uncomfortable or damaging to our sense of self, our brain goes into defensive physiology to protect itself from that information. We release chemicals that effect heart rate, blood pressure, and cause us to tighten down and become inflexible. If we continue in that state, which most people do, our system is not flexible enough to adapt to new and potentially stressful information.

Wellness and illness are about how we respond and adapt to our symptoms and to our life. How would you respond to a symptom, a disease or a life crisis? How have you responded in the past? The answer to those questions will help you get an idea of your own level of wellness.

It might also be noted that wellness is open ended, which means that you can always achieve a greater level of it. In fact, in a research study conducted at the University of California , it was found that people in Network Care, tracked over a period of nine years, appeared to have no ceiling to the level of wellness they experienced. Network Care operates in the wellness model helping people develop strategies to recover from stress physiology, adapt to future stresses and access the part of the brain which enables healthier choices and responses….regardless of symptoms.

The Ineptness of Medical Diagnosis

2005-05-07T11:45:00.001-04:00

I spent significant time reflecting on the events that led me to visit the M.D. and was well prepared to share my story so that together we could figure out why I was having painful joint swelling. I didn't however, get the chance to share that story, and felt somehow slighted. Shouldn't I feel grateful to be sent home with a speedy diagnosis of gout and a bag full of sample drugs? "No problem, we'll put you on Allopurinol, one a day for the rest of your life."

That's it? I've got to tell you, the phrase "we'll put you on" didn't really sit too well with me. As if I had no say in the course of action to be taken. It had been so many years since I visited an MD that I don't really remember if it was always like that. I suppose that it's socially accepted and even expected that we are not responsible for our own health. Judging by this doc's presumptuous delivery I'm guessing he probably didn't get a whole lot of resistance from his average patient.

It's not that I have a problem with the practice of medicine, it's the way medicine is being practiced that I'm questioning. It seems as though the most common phrase I hear is "my doctor put me on or took me off this or that medication." I don't know how many people realize the significance of a statement like that. Not very empowering.

Since my practice is in the wellness paradigm I prefer term client or practice member to that of patient. Patient has come to mean victim. A pawn to the good and evil forces that direct one's life. While it may appear the easier route it may not be the most beneficial. One of the aspects of being well is empowerment.

Before I even accept a new client I spend two hours getting to know them and explaining exactly what we're going to do and why. At the end I always ask if what we discussed makes sense and if they think it would be beneficial to begin care. Having the opportunity to tell their story is an important part of the healing process. My very good friend and colleague Dr. Wayne Leyshon used to say "people just want to be gotten," meaning of course that they just wanted to be understood.

Getting to tell their story is a cultural right of passage and when patients are denied that by their doctor it's like saying "what you feel going on inside you is not important." Health researchers are finding that's not the case at all. Terms like Wellness and Quality of Life are emerging as we find things like emotional and psychological well being and the ability to adapt to stress and enjoy life are as important in overall health as the physical lab values.

And you never know, taking a person's history (his story) might actually give some clues as to why the symptoms are occurring and what to do instead of or in addition to just treating the symptom. I think the main problem with treating a symptom without any attention as to why it happened is... well, just that. No attention to why the body is expressing the symptom. If someone comes in and I wave a magic wand over them and make all their symptoms go away, did I really do them a favor? Perhaps I robbed them of the opportunity to figure out what part of their life needs attention. In my case.... What sequence of events have led me to these symptoms and how do I keep from repeating the cycle? What if it's a symptom of something more serious? Is it a product of life style or even a deep seeded emotional pattern? Who knows, but I think it's worth looking into.

He was a really nice guy too, so I can't imagine he would withhold if he new any better. Aside from the prescribed one a day, he also suggested I stay away from wine , cheese and nuts. My subsequent research revealed a much larger list which surprisingly didn't include cheese.... There is a god. Nuts were fine (and even important) too, as long as they weren't cooked in oil. There are also a ton of supplements and foods that reportedly work as well or better than the drug.

Moral of the story.... If you want more information, you'd better look for it. Wouldn't it be nice though, if your M.D. worked with you to get to the bottom of your health concern? Maybe they should have a contract that says "we're only here to treat your symptom, enhanced well being not included."

Researchers find common killer: Stress

2005-05-05T11:35:00.001-04:00

Many years ago I remember hearing about how stress was bad and it was fairly common knowledge that stress contributed to some major illnesses including heart attacks and strokes. Not many people seemed to know why. Surprisingly enough, I'm finding that a lot of people still don't!

This morning, on the way into the office, I heard on the radio that scientists have discovered stress deteriorates the cells of the immune system. I thought to myself, "They're just figuring this out?" Of course it does! And it contributes to every other condition as well.

Just about everyone holds a certain amount of tension in their body from both past and present stressors. I believe this is due in part to our culture's increased demands on our body and mind. We've become so accustomed to experiencing life in this state that it has become the norm, the standard by which we define our lives. This "standard" is called stress physiology... and it is completely normal when dealing with a stressful situation. However, after about 20 minutes, it becomes physically harmful.

Stressors can be physical, chemical or mental-emotional in nature. Regardless of its type, the normal response is for the body to go into stress physiology. If the brain can't fully process the stress it will continue in the stress response even after the stress is over. For most people it's never over. (Yes, you too.) Even something as small as the conversation in your head that never stops... that's stress.

So the question is, "Why does stress cause so many problems and affect the body on so many levels?" Well, to start with, when we experience stress certain "stress chemicals" like cortisol are released. This causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar. It only makes sense that stress contributes to cardiovascular problems and diabetes.

In addition, the breath becomes shallow and the musculature in the body tightens down causing bio-mechanical changes. This is especially true in the spine where improper movement effects the function of the nerve system. Of course, the nerve system controls all other systems including the endocrine system (body chemistry) which regulates everything from hormones to digestion to mood.

One of the most fascinating things to me is how stress affects brain function. The cerebral cortex, or the large part of the brain, is where our higher brain activity occurs. Higher brain activity means processing things other than survival, such as love, creativity, beauty, decision making and life purpose. When you are in a survival mode, or even when your body thinks there's a survival situation, the blood supply to that part of the brain actually diminishes.

Why would it do that? Simple: Your body directs blood where it's needed most and away from the area's that are not needed. In a survival situation we are accessing the lower, or reactive, part of our brain for quick response. The problem is we get stuck in that physiology even after the event is over and we exist as if we're trying to survive. In that state it's physiologically impossible to experience our full potential of love, creativity, beauty and all the other higher brain activities. Life becomes about making to the end of the day, and to the next weekend, and through another month, and to the next vacation and "when I retire then everything is going to be all right." I've got news for you. You never get there.

So I encourage you to ask yourself some questions: Why am I here (in this life)? Am I here to get by and survive, or am I here to experience life with as much love, joy and creativity possible? In addition to worrying about how stress deteriorates our immune cells, maybe we should concern ourselves with how it deteriorates our life experience.

Symptoms of inner peace

2005-04-29T11:58:00.001-04:00

Symptoms of inner peace:

A tendency to think and act spontaneously, rather than from fears based on past experiences.

An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

A loss of interest in judging others.

A loss of interest in judging self.

A loss of internal conflict.

A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

A loss of ability to worry.

Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

Contented feelings of connectedness with others and with nature.

Frequent attacks of smiling through the heart.

Increasing susceptibility to love extended by others, as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

An increasing tendency to let things happen, rather than to manipulate them and make them happen.

Your health is a conflict of interest: Watch out!

2005-04-29T11:53:00.001-04:00

Not long ago I heard about new laws being enacted that would allow authorities to screen all school children for mental health and enforce treatment as they see fit. Parents could lose custody if they did not go along. All part of the “no child left behind program.” Isn't that good, you ask? We could find the children that need help and help them. The question is how? Even if the lawmakers are looking out for our best interest, I see a few very serious pitfalls.

First of all, who's going to be administering the “verdict” on your child? What if the screener is incompetent, overworked, or in need of medication them selves. Do parents really want to relinquish their right to decide what's best for their children? And who's defining mental health? Who's making the distinction between a chemically imbalanced kid and one who's experienced trauma and needs more love and attention?

A recent conference revealed that there is no clear way to diagnose ADD or ADHD. And if you could, then what do you do? Well, the current conventional treatment is medication, even though psychotropic drugs like Ritalin have been shown to produce some serious side effects, including depression and suicidal tendencies. I read an article which discussed the rash of school ground killing sprees. Apparently every one of the perpetrators had taken psychotropic meds. Yet we have school teachers and administrators regularly suggesting these “treatments” to parents.

This is a very disturbing trend that we may want to examine a little closer. The fact that there's a political push to support that methodology is even more alarming. You've got to ask yourself, is it possible that there is an agenda here. It's no secret that pharmaceutical companies were major supporters and financial contributors to politicians behind this legislation.

This month's newsletter contains a couple of articles that highlight some different perspectives about challenging children. In “ADD: America's Designer Disease,” Dr. David Ross takes an alternative look at hyperactive tendencies in children and Patricia Baily shares information about how children today are a different breed. These articles provide some practical information for parents looking for alternatives to drug therapy. Personally, I've seen very positive results with kids in my care, so I know first hand that unconventional options are worth pursuing. (Network Care increases brain function.) Parents and society as a whole may want to look a little deeper. Pretty soon they might not have the chance.

Check out citizens.org to keep up with health legislation.

Covering symptoms, covering problems

2004-08-01T11:24:00.001-04:00

Recently my sister sent me a CD from a singer/songwriter named John Lester. One of the songs, "Out of the clear blue sky," intrigued me because the artist makes an analogy between himself and his country. I thought it was fitting because we can also draw the same analogy in relation to health and healing.

Out of the clear blue sky
When I was a young man so many troubles seem to come my way
I didn't see that I sewed the seeds of my anger, it grew a little every day
Always a battle for my ways, always someone else to blame
So many enemies but never did I wonder from whence they came
I never stopped to look inside, to see if I held the reasons why
The world was coming at me from out of the clear blue sky

Here the songwriter explores his personal responsibility for his trouble in life.

Interestingly, many people think that when they lose their health it's simply a matter of bad luck or that they are victims of genetics. It's pretty rare for someone to consider their personal responsibility for their illness. While I don't deny genetics play a role, there are other factors that exploit weakness in our bodies. When it comes to health it's not a matter of luck, rather one of cause and effect. In other words, things don't happen without reason. Even if we don't know what the cause or purpose is. We do have the choice either to take a look our responsibility in our own health or give up our power and become a victim with no control of our lives.

Now comes a time when my country's also come of age
Hell hit the homeland, everyone's rightfully filled with rage
The president's pointing his finger and from the pulpit I heard him say
We're one nation under God and by God we're gonna get them back one day
With no admission to reason why, we put all the blame on another side
And said the evil one came at us from out of the clear blue sky

In this song the solution is to place blame and destroy the enemy. In our culture when someone gets cancer the normal procedure is to eradicate it with radiation, drugs or surgery. And although I may or may not choose that route for myself, I can certainly understand the argument for it. I'd like to point out though, that even if we cut out or kill the cancer we haven't necessarily had any net gain in health. In fact, there's a strong chance that our health has actually diminished even if the cancer is controlled. (Medical treatment is the third leading cause of death in this country according to the American Medical Association.) And who's to say it won't come back.

They were crazy, they were evil and they were wrong
But the weak take a desperate measure when they're backed into a corner by a fool to strong
My brothers, my sisters, my countrymen and my friends
I think we'd better take a really hard look at ourselves if we want to keep this from happening again
And if we search beyond our pride, perhaps we'll find an answer that has long been denied
And peace will reign upon us from out of the clear blue sky

Health is a state of harmony and when all parts of an entity communicate and work together it ensures that it not only survives, but thrives. If there is disharmony or dysfunction, things just don't work right. In the human body that usually means a cascade of physiological events that lead to the symptoms that we label disease. The same principles would hold true for the environment or for that matter the state of the world. If there is disharmony in the world it leads to a cascade of events which we call war and terrorism. The long term solution would be to take a look at why the situation was created in the first place and work to change that instead of just treating the symptom.

Harmonic Entrainment: Connecting to each others vibes

2004-08-01T11:04:00.001-04:00

As I looked around, it was the realization that people from different generations, genders, races and socioeconomic backgrounds, transcended their differences and became one. Nothing else mattered but experiencing the joy of the moment. We didn't have to find the rhythm. It found us. Expression became stronger than fear and judgment. To feel this was blissful and to observe it brought tears to my eyes. That evening, Dickey Betts and his band brought about something I've experienced on many occasions. Only this time I was consciously inspired to write about it.

When I first meet with a new client I do my best to explain that what I do is called an entrainment, not an adjustment or a manipulation. I explain harmonic entrainment as the phenomenon that occurs when you strike a tuning fork and bring a second tuning fork into proximity. The second tuning fork will match the vibration of the first automatically because it is more energy efficient for nature. Consequently, it can be seen all around us. A common example would be school of fish or a flock of birds. It is why we become tense around someone who is already stressed or calm around a peaceful presence. Through the application of Network Care (in the form of light contacts) we are actually entraining the brain to a lower vibration which promotes a physiological change in the body, a change from stress physiology, or defense, into ease or peace. This is a good thing. So...

A couple of songs into the second set I realized it was happening. As I looked around I noticed the wide variety of people enjoying the show. Since Dickey started playing with the Allman Brothers Band in the sixties, the average age ranged from teens to middle aged. There were an endless variety of listeners, each dancing and moving in their own unique fashion. But that's not what really caught my attention. Although the hundreds of people in the crowd were moving in a manner all their own, each was moving in a synchronous rhythm within the group. Some just swayed slowly while others gyrated with much quicker movements. But it was almost as if there was a net that connected each and every person and all the members of the band. We were collectively entrained to the same vibration or rhythm. If you've ever experienced this you don't have to ask why this was so special. But, have you ever wondered why?

I've talked about the concept of being present. It is the time when time doesn't exist. When there is no concern about the future or worry of the past. It is the moment when you're awestruck by beauty and observation replaces thought and judgment. It is when healing occurs. Some people achieve it through music, some though meditation, some death defying events and some lovemaking. Complete presence is an unfettered connection to your source, your god or your transcendent self, and is experienced as a state of complete bliss. To achieve this as your perpetual state of being would probably be what they call enlightenment.

It seems a difficult thing to describe but it's this experience of entrainment that brings about presence and being present that enables you to fully experience the beauty of this phenomenon. I thought to myself, if we could experience this phenomenon as a race, on a global scale it would be heaven. Our mission at The Center for Holistic Health is to help people get to a place where they can experience this presence more often in their lives. A client said to me recently, "you have a great job."

You know what? She was right!