Wake Up

Recently I had the opportunity to see a great movie called Divergent. It is a film based in a post apocalyptic future, where in order to maintain a functioning society, everyone is separated in five different factions or separated all together without a faction. The factions are based on your strongest and overwhelming attribute, like: kindness, bravery, selflessness, honesty, and knowledge. Each member of society takes an aptitude test that will determine which attribute they personify and helps them determine which faction to join and ultimately they only pursue perfection in that singular attribute and nothing else for the rest of their life. For the main character though, her test did not determine a single attribute that she personified but showed that she best personified three of the five, which made her Divergent and a "threat" to the entire order of the society. Which is the conflict seen in the rest of the movie.

Many things came to mind while and after I watched this film. I think there are many parallels with our society that we can take from this story. Although we do not have this literal faction separation, we do have factions or labels that we put on ourselves and others. We label children very early on with labels of ADHD, special needs, slow, gifted, honor students, etc. We give standardized tests to see if someone is allowed to go to college to receive "higher" education. People are placed in social circles that help them excel in business, like the old phase says, "it's not what you know, it's who you know." We all know that grumpy person, the needy person, the smart one, the super optimistic one, the person that everyone likes, the sickly one, the quiet one etc. Factions really exist and sadly we tend to become what we have been told we are or the label that has been given to us.

So my words to all those that read this, WAKE UP. Like the heroine in the movie, you do not need to conform to the labels that others or yourself has placed on you. You can have all the positive attributes that you want and become whatever you want to be. It takes work to develop who you want to be, and at times it is very difficult, but you can overcome any label! You do not need to accept labels like lazy, diseased, dumb, etc. The world needs more people awake to their potential. Our society is more threatened by labeled drones then by those that are truly living life, truly awake. Make doubters believers and become "Divergent."

-Mike E

Stress Haiku

New stress bombards us

Infinitely adapting

Find new ways to cope

-Mike E

Part 1 Epilogue

Well that was one of the fastest weekends I have ever experienced. Nine hours of testing over a day and half makes time pass rapidly. It turns out that I have been able to retain information for a year and a half of classes. I was able to keep track of how many of the questions I knew for sure the answer to, and to my joy it was more than half on all six sections, (you need 375 out of 800 or 46% to pass each section of part 1). Biochemistry was by far my strongest section, no surprise there. Although this is no guarantee that I have passed them, as with all standardized tests, they will now take all the tests from around the country and statistically adjust them; like if everyone got a question right, or if everyone got it wrong they throw it out and readjust and they will do all other types of statistical wizardry to get the final scores. Based on past results they tend to curve the tests in such a way that ~75% pass and ~25% fail each time they administer the exams. I feel confident that I am in the top 75% and I will get the official scores on May 5th.

With everything said and done, I am happy to have that experience done and over with. One less hoop to jump through before I can become a licensed chiropractor. I would like to thank all those that gave my support and sent happy thoughts my way way. Now on to pre-clinic next quarter and the next phase in my education.

-Mike E

National Boards Part 1

This weekend marks a large benchmark in my journey to become a chiropractor. I get to find out if anything from the last year and a half of my education has stuck in my brain.

Saturday and Sunday I will be sitting for the first of four parts of the chiropractic national board examinations. Without passing each of the parts it is impossible to be licensed as a chiropractor in the USA. I can still graduate but cannot practice chiropractic. 

In part 1, the first installment, I will see 6 subject exams, each allowing 90 minutes to complete. The subjects are: general anatomy, spinal anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pathology, and microbiology. The first 2 will be on Saturday and the other 4 on Sunday. It will be quite the test of endurance, but I am sure I will hold out well enough. It is what it is so I cannot complain.

So any happy thoughts sent my direction will be greatly appreciated. I will report on how it went, if there is anything left of me... 

-Mike E

Season of Integrate

Cycle of Seasons

As one is able to take a step back from the spectrum, all of the Seasons of Wellbeing can be viewed as a single organic integrated whole. When one has passed through the first three seasons, an individual can look at each of the experiences and positives attributes that they experienced in each and learn to integrate them in new life experiences. They can apply the aspects that worked best for them in each of the prior seasons to work through each new moment and experience with much more depth and navigate better through life. The spectrum of the Seasons of Wellbeing can be viewed as a cycle, where each time around the individual is able to experience greater depth or height in their experiences. Awareness of which season one is in and being able to apply aspects of the next season into the one they are experiencing is a trademark of the Season of Integrate.

-Mike E

(I am taking most of this information from this journal article:
 REORGANIZATIONAL HEALING AS AN INTEGRALLY
INFORMED FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRAL MEDICINE
Simon Senzon, et al,  Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(4), pp. 113–130)

Season of Awaken

Here we come to the other end of the spectrum of the Seasons of Wellbeing. This is where a person has come to a heightened awareness of who they are. A new power to choose and orchestrate your own experiences emerges and this person takes control of their own life. This person has the ability to be aware of the spaces between people, words, and events and have a sense of the rhythm and energies that exists in everything around them. A heightened expression of love towards others and themselves is manifested in this season, as well as a desire to give that love to others. These empowering aspects of Awaken allow for a view of the big picture of all the experiences and opens up the possibilities of greatest evolution and change.

Some questions one may ask themselves in this season are:
"How can I embrace the space?"
"Where is the rhythm?"
"What is the energy/love telling me?"
"How can I grow the gratitude?"
"What gift has been given to me?"
"How can I sponsor the sharing of my abundance?"
"How can I receive others/ circumstances with gratitude as gifts?"
"How can we be each other’s wisdom/medicine?"

-Mike E

(I am taking most of this information from this journal article:
 REORGANIZATIONAL HEALING AS AN INTEGRALLY
INFORMED FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRAL MEDICINE
Simon Senzon, et al,  Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(4), pp. 113–130)

Season of Transform

This season fits in the middle of the spectrum of the Seasons of Wellbeing. This is the season in which the person really starts to develop a sense of self. In this state a sense of resourcefulness is cultivated. A person can create a baseline for real meaningful change in their lives. Personal responsibility and a sense of empowerment are major aspects of this season. Negative aspects of ones life and health are dissolved and room is created to bring in new more positive aspects. Resolution with past conflicts are obtained. All these things ready us for a new more powerful perspective in the next season.

Some questions that you may have in this season are:
"What can I do to never disempower myself again?"
"What else is going on?"
"What is really happening here?"
"How can I prepare myself?"
"How can I conduct an inventory and get rid of that which no longer serves me?"
"How can I resolve this?"

 -Mike E
 
(I am taking most of this information from this journal article:
 REORGANIZATIONAL HEALING AS AN INTEGRALLY
INFORMED FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRAL MEDICINE
Simon Senzon, et al,  Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(4), pp. 113–130)

Season of Discover

Discover appears on one end of the Seasons of Wellbeing spectrum. It is a state in which the person feels dis-empowered and resource-less. In this state the individual will reach out to an authoritative person, like a doctor because of their higher education and title, and yield to whatever recommendation they give because of lack of sense of self-empowerment. This is an important part of the healing in this season. When issues get cleared up by the "authority" the person has more energy to start looking inwardly at their own power. This is the season that the individual needs to focus on their problems and why that problem is there and then work it out with an authority figure. This will then allow the person to move into later seasons of wellbeing.

Some Questions that someone in this season would ask themselves are:
"Why me? Why not me?"
"What is wrong with me?"
"Who can fix/get rid of this?"
"Why am I stuck?"
"Why can’t I solve this now?"

-Mike E


(I am taking most of this information from this journal article:
 REORGANIZATIONAL HEALING AS AN INTEGRALLY
INFORMED FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRAL MEDICINE
Simon Senzon, et al,  Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(4), pp. 113–130)

Seasons of Wellbeing

Four Seasons

There are four different seasons that a person can be in while going through the healing process and continuing down the path of whole body wellness. They are as follows:

1) Season of Discover
2) Season of Transform
3) Season of Awaken
4) Season of Integrate

We cycle through each of these seasons as we move through life. By knowing which of these seasons we are in at a given time, we are more able to understand our state of mind and know how to best help us make the changes to grow and further evolve on our path to wholeness and self-awareness. We can tailor the care we receive based on our perception in the given season we are experiencing.

Use the links above to navigate to an explanation of each of the individual seasons.

-Mike E

(I am taking most of this information from this journal article:
 REORGANIZATIONAL HEALING AS AN INTEGRALLY
INFORMED FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRAL MEDICINE
Simon Senzon, et al,  Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, 6(4), pp. 113–130)

Season Haiku

Seasons of change exist

Each brings its own challenges

Work with where you are

-Mike E

Constants and Variables

In mathematical equations, there are some values that never change (constants) and some values that can change given the particular circumstances (variables). These things combined will give us a unique outcome. Since the constants do not ever change, the only thing that will allow us to modify the unique outcome to our ability to changing the variables.

We can see this mirrored in our daily experiences. There are aspects in our lives that are always constant, we have to breathe, we have to eat, we have to suffer, etc. Although these things are always going to be there, we are not locked into a specific outcome. With these examples there are variables that are in our control. We can choose to go out into the woods to breathe fresh air, we can eat things that are better for us and eat less than we think we may want. We can choose to be a victim of our suffering or show greater awareness of our situation and learn to grow from it.

We have many choices everyday as we go through this journey we call life. There are definitely things that are beyond our control and we need to accept those things, but there are always variables that we can choose between that will help us live a fuller more enjoyable life.

-Mike E

Chiropractic is

The nervous system is responsible for all communication within the body,
Many things can cause interference to the communication of the nervous system,
Chiropractors work to correct a specific cause of the interference for the purpose of restoring the communication pathways of the nervous system.

I just wanted to make that clear.

-Mike E

Reorganizational Healing

When we think of healthcare most of us think disease removal and restoration to where we were before the symptoms came on. This has been the traditional healthcare model for a long time. Restorative healing is great if you want to get back to where you were before, but what if you didn't like who you were before. Since most of the common diseases that plague our society are in large part caused by our lifestyle choices examples of these are: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer can be attributed to lifestyle choices. If we go to our healthcare provider and they are able to treat us by some method and restore us to where we were before the disease, but we still live the same lifestyle, what is to stop us from contracting the same disease again? This is the cycle that many people experience.

So what is reorganizational healing? I had the wonderful opportunity this afternoon to listen to two great innovators in the field of reorganizational healing, Dr Christopher Kent and Dr Donny Epstein  on a conference call. It was great to glean from their knowledge and research experience. One thing that particularly stood out to me was something Dr Epstein talked about. He pointed out that the Merriam-Webster definition of health is: the condition of being well or free from disease. He was sure to point out the phrasing of "free from disease" and not "free of disease." Free of disease makes us think that we are without disease and have no symptoms. That is what most of us think health is, but looking at the definition of the word it means free from disease, which means, the disease is still present but we are not controlled by it. How empowering is that idea! We in reorganizational healing look at the symptom or disease not as something to get rid of, but more of something to understand. Why do we feel pain? What is our body telling us? What do we need to change about our lives to better manage the pain or stop causing it? etc. The outcomes that we look for in Network Chiropractic care are observing how the recipient of care is becoming more aware of the symptoms and developing strategies to cope and improve them.  We monitor posture, nerve function improvement, and overall quality of life measures to strive for global improvement in the practice member. By using light contacts in specific areas (which change based on how the practice member is showing tension that day) on the spine, we can help the nervous system restore function. All this then allows the person to empower them to a new level of function and awareness to have a more fulfilling and enjoyable life, rather than just restoring them to who they were before.

Disease is an inevitable fact of life. How we deal with it is our choice. Will we go for the quick temporary fix, or seek out true Health and establishing strategies to understand, cope, and overcome the disease to reach a higher plain of existence? With better ability to adapt to our environment and a greater understanding of our bodies we can be free from disease.

-Mike E