Week 2 – A means to what end?

I have been severely indulging in my favorite activity these days. That would be inertia. A friend of mine reminded me that not deciding was in fact a decision not to act. In this case, I have been putting off this week’s Unity service topic. I was creating tension within myself as my decision to integrate Unity’s teachings is solid, even though I was neglecting to respect it. The justification emerged initially as usual from an egotistical understanding that the subject was boring and bland. After a few days of reflection  I started to realize that I was deeply concerned by its lesson and that I needed a hard and honest look at my life. I am guilty of having focussed so intensely on an idea, that the means of achieving it became justified entirely by it.

Yves Lafontant wrote that “we can always use properly the tool that is our mind to achieve an end that is a blessing rather than a curse.” I once had an idea that lead to 8 years of intense work added onto an already thriving professional life. The idea became so important that I believed in it enough to damage my health, personal life and spirit. I was in a sense my own Hitler holding a pathological thought above and beyond anything of “real” importance in my life, causing much harm to my life and myself. I thank God that I did not create the idea of a perfect race and that the extend of the damages have been limited to my personal life. My benevolent nature would have prevented me from birthing any such ideas but I did intensely nurture ideas beyond spiritual sanity. I am thankful to have found in that experience, yet another opportunity to grow.

As you are reading this, I am experiencing another transformation. The lesson hidden in the apparent toxicity of the experience I am referring to has now released its negative hold. It is now repositioned as a life changing process of becoming more aware. As I awaken to the lesson of Unity, I reframe a perceived failure into a greater perspective that taught me this important lesson. Before I act upon any thought, I must make sure that I am in the Right Mind.

As Unity wrote so well I must seek to adopt ever new thinking followed by actions that reflect the love, wisdom and strength of my indwelling Divine Presence.

Before I think anything I must know this so that my thoughts may manifest a harmonious and loving reality.

Peace through understanding

This is week one of my One Year in Unity project. After spending a week reflecting on the Unity post, I implemented the information and examined my personal and professional life through the new paradigm.

Amongst the changes I noted, I list the following:

1. I no longer strain at answering questions in my practice. I realize that the information I share only reaches you in proportion to the level of understanding of individuals. How grounded is your understanding of life, nature and the reality of your health? If all of it is an accident, there is nothing I can do for you at this point.
2. The rest of them will get there eventually. As I see myself through change, I understand that we are all in the process of becoming. I have done nothing if not connect more with that dimension of myself that has never stopped tugging until I established peace as the foundation of myself.
3. The only thing I can achieve is an expansive personal understanding. What is really important here is my own search for truth. When I feel the inne vibrations of peace, then and only then is my understanding laced with intuition.

The most difficult part of all this seems to be holding on to the clarity. It is as though I had an inner battle between my personality and my identity, between my ego and my true spiritual self. I must cease to resist.

Comprenez-vous quelque chose?

L’idée que le terme compréhension signifie également ‘savoir’ peut parraîte juste à première vue. Suite à la lecture du blog de Unity cette semaine, je m’exerce à éclaircir le sujet. Fidèle a mes habitudes, je poli ma façon de communiquer afin de mieux promouvoir une compréhension de la santé au sein de ma pratique.

Mon expérience M’apprend que les patients expriment le besoin de comprendre l’origine de leurs symptômes ainsi que la nature des soins, des résultats d’examens ou tout autre processus clinique s’adressant à eux. Selon l’article de Unity: “Nous avons un désir inné de connaître la vérité, de voir les choses clairement, sans aucun intermédiaire gênant”.

Dans l’énoncé précédant, la relation apparente entre la connaissance et la compréhension et mentionnée comme un besoin de clarté inné que nous cherchons à assouvir par la connaissance. De plus, nous apprenons que la compréhension est un phénomène individuel, une opinion ou interprétation d’un sujet quelconque.

Il m’apparait clairement que la pluspart du temps passé en clinique est alloué aux explications. Curieusement, peu importe la validité de mes explications, il n’y à rien que je puisse faire pour garantir qu’un patient soit en mesure de comprendre ou d’adhérer à l’information que je lui tend.

Ceci introduit le questionnement de mon article. Existe-t-il une compréhension “juste”? Dans ma recherche de clarté, j’en suis venu à réaliser que la compréhension est un processus qui viens tempérer la connaissance en relation avec la sagesse qui nous habite. Sans elle, la connaissance deviens un processus  de choix intellectuel stérile qui ne s’épaule pas de notre intuition mais qui est sélectionné selon des critères qui ne nous habitent pas nécessairement.

Je crois qu’il existe une intelligence innée en chacun de nous, une présence qui se manifeste consciemment lorsqu’on y est ouvert. À partir de cette présence, j’affirme qu’il n’y a pas de raffinement technologique supérieur à la nature. Peu importe le poids et l’ingéniosité des explications, il n’y aura jamais de substitut à la nature. En relation avec nos problématiques de santé, la seule façon d’atteindre un équilibre fonctionnel doit nécessairement être naturelle même si c’est moins pratique dans la complexité de notre mode de vie actuel.

Je crois que cet énoncé explique pourquoi tant de gens ont une réticence aux médicaments. Pouvez-vous imaginer un situation plus inconfortable qu’une visite chez le dentiste qui débute par une seringue? Seriez-vous disposé à subir une intervention chirurgicale? Comment pourriez-vous expliquer autrement le fait que la majorité de patients ne terminent pas leur prescriptions médicales malgré leur compréhension?

Hier je discutais avec un ami qui est aux prises avec un cancer. Il a choisi une approche totalement chimique et rien que je ne puisse dire ou faire ne l’aide à adhérer au fait que ce dont il a besoin est un mode de vie plus naturel. J’ai abandonné toute discussion hier alors qu’il affirmais que si les approches naturelles avaient fait leur preuves, les médias ne manqueraient pas de nous en informer. J’ai réaliser immédiatement que son niveau de compréhension était complètement étrangé à la sagesse qui m’habite et que son esprit était enraciné dans une logique synthétique basé sur la croyance populaire.

En toute honnêteté,  je ne possède pas un bagage de connaissance suffisant pour avoir la certitude que l,alimentation organique et crue, les anti-oxidants, l’hyperbare et autres thérapies naturelles auraient plus d’efficacité pour faire face à une réalité aussi dévastatrice que le cancer. Il ne s’agit que d’une évidence claire en harmonie avec mon intuition. Par opposition, l’idée de me soumettre à la chimiothérapie toxique et d’accompagner cet empoisonnement par de fortes doses de stéroides et antidouleurs ne m’apparait pas comme étant valide. En fait, cette approche me terrifie par son arriérisme scientifique et l’ampleur de sa toxicité.

L’emphase ici devrait être placé sur le mot “me” étant donné que cet énoncé ne constitue que le reflet de ma compréhension limitée du sujet.

J’ai la conviction que la santé est le résultat de notre mode de vie et que les problématiques de santé majeures sont causés par un débalancement majeur de celui-ci.

Je cherche à aller au delà de la perception intellectuelle et à m’abandonner à une compréhension spirituelle ou intuition. Je respecte également le fait que ce processus d’épanouissement qui ne peut pas être forcé et j’ai beaucoup de gratitude vis-à-vis l’abondance de patients qui me consultent en raison ma compréhension de l’importance de la nature. J’encourage tous ceux qui ont résolus naturellement leur problèmes de santé à partager leur expérience afin d’aider le plus grand nombre à actualiser leur compréhension.

Do you undertand anything?

The idea that understanding is the equivalent of knowledge may seem true, but I found myself examining this position after reading Unity’s post this week. As usual, I try to improve my communication skills regarding patient education in order to promote a better understanding of health within my practice.

In my experience, patients need to understand what causes their symptoms and also what type of care, examination or any other clinical process I offer. According to Unity: “We have an innate desire to know the truth, to see things clearly and without limiting interferences”.

In that previous statement, the apparent relationship between knowledge and understanding is referred to as an innate sense of clarity that we seek through knowledge. Further more, we learn that understanding by definition is a personal opinion or interpretation of a subject.

It is clear to me that most of my time in clinic is spent explaining to patients. What has been also growing in clarity is that no matter how clever or truthful my explanations are, there is nothing I can do to guarantee that patients will understand or agree with the information. This introduces a new pickle for your mind. Is there a right understanding? In my search for clarity, I came to believe that understanding would be a balance between wisdom and knowledge. Without wisdom then understanding becomes a sterile intellectual choice, not shouldered by our intuition, but selected based on criteria not rooted within ourselves.

I believe that there is an innate intelligence within all of us, a presence that manifests consciously when you are open to it. From that place of innate understanding, I claim that there is no higher level of technology than nature itself. No matter how clever the information, there is no substitute for nature. When dealing with health issues, the only way to return to balance is through natural approaches no matter how unpractical it seems these days.

I believe that this statement can explain why so many of us have an innherent fear of medication. Can you think of anything more discomforting than a dentist visit that starts with the needle? How about medication? What else would explain that over 90% of patients never finish their prescription in spite of their “understanding”.

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend who is dealing with cancer. He has chosen an absolute chemical approach to his health problem and nothing I can say, can help him understand that what he needs is a more natural lifestyle. The discussion ended yesterday when he stated that if there was a better approach, then the media would promote it.

I stopped all discussions right there as I realized that his level of understanding was not rooted in wisdom but a synthetic sense of logic based on popular belief.

I honestly have no idea if raw foods, anti-oxidants, and natural therapies would be more efficient when dealing with the devastating reality of cancer. It just makes perfect sense that it would be. Besides, the thought of putting myself through the toxic chemotherapy, accompanying  steroids and pain killers does not appeal to me as a valid choice of treatment. I would be terrified by the idea. The emphasis here is on me as this is merely a reflection of my limited understanding.

I believe that health is a result of lifestyle and that major health issues are caused by major lifestyle imbalances.

I seek to move past intellectual perception and abandon myself to spiritual understanding or intuition. I also respect the fact that this process is a process of becoming that cannot be forced and I am thankful for the abundance of people that seek my care specifically for my spiritual understanding of the importance of nature. I urge all of us who have manifested health victories through natural processes to share their experiences to help people raise their level of understanding.

Mommy can I have some radioactive cherries please.

As the entire world is preoccupied with the H1N1 “pandemic” and all of its unstated and unmediated divergent opinions,  I thought I would bring to the table the issue of ionizing radiation.

The Food and Drug Administration, U.S.A.  stated that “The Agency agrees with the conclusions of the Committee of Indian Scientists that the studies with irradiated food do not demonstrate that adverse effects would be caused by ingestion of irradiated foods.” (Federal Register 51, April 18, 1986, p 13 385)

The Committee of Indian Scientists referred to here, is a two-man committee which consisted of Dr. P.C. Kesavan and Dr. P.V. Sukhatme, whose report, according to the federal register’s citation, was submitted to the Joint FA0/WHO/IAEA Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness of Irradiated Food, held at Geneva in 1976.

The scientific community however, seems to paint a different picture of the phenomena. The National Institute of Nutrition, India, performed several studies on mice, rats and monkeys and published the following conclusions.

The Institute’s Findings – You are what you eat

1. Rats and mice fed diets containing freshly irradiated wheat showed increased levels of polyploid cells  [ cells with chromosome abnormalities ]  in their bone marrow. This was repeatedly observed in several separate experiments.
2. Normal monkeys and undernourished children fed diets containing freshly irradiated wheat showed elevated levels of polyploid [ abnormal ] cells in circulating lymphocytes  [white blood cells] . Several months after the irradiated wheat was withdrawn, levels of polyploidy returned to normal.
3. Mice fed freshly irradiated wheat-based diets showed evidence of dominant lethal mutation as indicated by increased numbers of intrauterine  [ prenatal ]  deaths.
4. When wheat was stored for twelve weeks after irradiation, and then included in the diet, there was neither an increase in the number of polyploid cells nor was there evidence of dominant lethal mutation.

Facing such discrepancies in opinion regarding our regular foods, I decided to try to figure out how to differentiate between irradiated foods and not irradiated foods. After all, if legislators can at will decide to allow  genetically denatured foods to be indiscriminately distributed, we should feel a strong incentive to figure out the proper way to choose foods.

Shedding light on produce sticker

Luckily, there is a sticker on almost every fruit and vegetable available out there.  The average household can therefore easily decide which produce to bring home.

Here is what you need to know

The next time you buy produce, look carefully at the label to find out some valuable information. The bar code on that sticker is for price identification. The labels on fruits and vegetables will also have a 4 or 5 digit code.

1. If your produce has 4 digits, it means that it was “conventionally grown, but not organic”.
2. If the 4 digit code begins with the number 3, it means that the produce has been irradiated.
3. If it has 5 digits, and begins with a 9, it means that the produce was organically grown.
4. A 5 digit code that begins with an 8 indicates that the produce was genetically modified.

It is surprisingly difficult to choose foods that have not been irradiated or genetically modified. Finding the right food to put on your table requires much more effort then you would think.

Is the world becoming unbound?

As the us banking system is unveiling the shaky grounds smothering its foundation, I am pondering about the reality of these seemingly fragile times. I don’t palpate a generalized sense of panick in my patients, In fact it almost feels as though patients were eager for the positive changes ahead.

A few days after the Bail-Out plan failed to pass, Jenny McCarthy aired on CNN and declared that her son was injured by vaccines. Listen carefully to the words she uses as she talks about thousands of parents treating their own kids and recovering from autism. Listen to the term “Vaccine Injury”, listen to the certainty as this mother is talking in her open war against the CDC and Merk Frost.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/10/01/intv.mccarthy.cnn

The agony of old concepts

Reflecting back on my first decade of patient education, it is easy to see how far off I was using the education tools that were and still are currently available. It was so easy to start explaining the spine with analogies to electrical circuitry breakers. The paradigm that tries to be illustrated by the Merrick chart now appears to me as being far from what actually needs to be conveyed to patients today.

I don’t recall ever seeing the ultimate representation of what patients need to understand in order to let go of the agonizing allopathic principle: the sensory and motor homunculi.

 

The homunculus is the perfect illustration of where symptoms are actually taking place in the brain. The image is easy for patients to relate to and its cartoon appearance is striking enough to catch their attention. From that point on, it is easy to transition from a peripheral concern for symptoms to an understanding of the cerebral events they might represent. 

 Try to imagine how your fullfilling your practice would be if people were readily understanding the neural nature of their health. What if people shifted and understood that nothing is possible without brain.

Can powerful ideas die?

What if we shrunk life down  to its basic elementary expression and imagined that there are elemental truths there that still exist at this stage of our living experience. What if the evolutionary principles that genes abide to, were also found at the foundation of ideas, language, fashion, social trends, economics and whatever other categories of human output you could find. What if this chaotic universe of knowledge was nothing more than just another more “evolved” expression of the principles of genetics?

I might be toying with silly ideas here, but aren’t you holding a cell phone, ipod or displaying any other behavioral signs that you are in fact copying from ideas around you? In a world where ideas are now broadcasted faster than in any other times in history, can we envision that we are entering a new age of ideological changes no longer driven by the human social network alone, but also accelerated by a vast new generation of technological mediums that speed up the replication process? Am I not writing this from a small Canadian town to reach your mind wherever it may be at this very moment?

Just as cancer genes replicate themselves regardless of the survival of the host, can we count on the “veracity” of an idea as an evolutionary edge or can ideas survive regardless of how true they are? What if truth had nothing to do with it? Would that make you wonder where your profession is going? Can you look back at the last decade of your professional life and witness that this chiropractic idea is replicating itself as fast as any other competing ideas?

Lets push these questions even further into the genetics of things. If the environment can be responsible for whether or not genes express themselves, can the social environment be responsible for the expression or non-expression of ideas? Do we live in an environment that supresses the “genetics” of the chiropractic principles? Are we going extinct here?

Don’t we wish there had been any large scale clinical trials that would have been compiling data for the last decades to help the media machine eat that information up and substantiate then replicate the ideas we hold so dear to our hearts as chiropractors?

I’ve spent nearly a decade developing such a research environment. Is the idea that the truth compiled by monitoring tens of thousands of patients irrelevant? Are we weaving a social/scientific/political environment that cares anymore?

As I write these disturbing lines, I cannot help but consider the replication mechanisms and rise from the midst of my mind the hope that we will have the wisdom to start using the new media as a solution to propagate our idea to a new height, new magnitude, new omnipresent truth to help establish the nesting environment of a myriad of new generations of ideas.

A stroke of insight

Here is a very powerful conference that was sent to me by a good friend of mine Dr David Gawain. I always struggled in my practice to get the average patient to recognise the principles that are touched here in this video. It is sometimes very hard to get patients to snap out of the reductionist perspective they often view their health with. Its hard to spoon feed this to patients droplets of information at a time to babystep them through a paradigm shift that seems so foreign to their concept of health.

If any of them started to hold in their minds that the very concept of health that they walk around with is also a consequence of brain function, what a great practice we would have. Imagine no longer having to bring people to understand that their body functions as a whole and that the pain that they walk around in, is only an insignificant indicator of their entire health status.

In this video Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor describes as a neuroanatomist her experience as a stroke victim. She describes her experience with such vivid details and emotional notes that I was snapped right into my own experience of the moment and how I too can be completely off when judging my own “projection” of reality.

As I witness this massive stroke victim unfold from her experience an inspirational lesson of that magnitude, I can’t help but wonder what my life in practice could be like If I let it sink in enough to start infusing my patient dialogs with the powerfull simplicity of her message.

Sometimes we make things so complicated.

Workflow in monkey land

I often get caught up in the growth pains and dwindle in them for a moment as I subconsciously look for the inspiration to face the demon and stare at it for what it really stands for. Most issues we face in our every day clinical life often thread their way back to an inability to see them through a solution paradigm. Perhaps we should stop thinking that we “suffer” because of the world, and rather be faithful to our inside-out philosophy and realise that we simply suck sometimes. After all shouldn’t we find merit in the realization that we are getting wiser here?

So many times I have caught myself loosing focus on what had promised to keep me going (and still does most of the time today). The hardest of all habits is the one that keeps us from taking our feelings too seriously and regarding them as one regards a child freaking out for ice cream. Because you cannot see a solution to a particular problem in any aspects of your clinic, does not mean there isn’t one.

Learn to listen

The most brilliant ideas I ever had for e-nate often came form paying attention to customer’s pain. Fortunately I always prioritized listening to clients and patients. Although I may have seemed distracted at times as I am often looking for the answer at the same time as listening to the problem. I always fear the next million similar issues that any problems promises to lead right back here if unsolved right now.

A new vision for the patient flow has just emerged from trying to solve the issue for a very valuable customer. I am only sorry that it took so long to really listen. Sometimes it is so simple to fix I laugh about it. All it takes is the wisdom to choose to stop indulging in the “self pity” customer complaints tend to corner us in.

Promise yourself right now that you will always know that they too are looking for a solution. Then take it with a grain of salt. We all have the right to just be monkeys sometimes.