Health Reconnected
INTRO TO RECONNECTION
Why do we have to create a problem before we are willing to change? It’s funny: in life, most of us choose to learn the hard way. We often find ourselves in a “transformational rut” of sorts. Einstein referred to this as the ‘definition of insanity,’ doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results each time. So, what drives us to insanity? Why is it so difficult for us to change?
This information will challenge the way you think. It will describe life’s journey through a shift in perspective. This shift will help illuminate the deception that has plagued the way we have been taught to embrace life. It will expose the pitfalls that disorientate us from change. It will outline a strategy that has the potential to reconnect us all to optimal health.
I think in terms of all or nothing. For me, there are only two ways to look at our existence: we’re all either physical or spiritual. Don’t let this statement confuse you. We can argue that we are both, one, or the other. However, the state of existence isn’t the whole debate.
Our discussion will be guided by these three main questions:
Why are we here?
What is our purpose?
Is it physical (self-based) or spiritual (Whole-based)?
As we analyze these questions, we will examine how physical and spiritual perspectives influence our existence. One perspective imprisons us while the other one frees us. One convinces us to isolate, the other to reconnect. One promotes pathology, the other promotes health. One discourages change, while the other encourages it. One perspective is based on fear, the other on trust. One is deception, the other is truth. One darkness, one light.
Think about it: we’ve all endured an experience we believed to be fate. It delivered a desired outcome in our lives that couldn’t have happened by chance. In contrast, we have also felt victimized by the world blaming our shortcomings on chance or accident. So, which one is it? Do we see our existence as chance or fate? Do we act on fear or trust? Is our perception guided by dark or light?
In truth, we are all stuck somewhere in between these two perspectives. Because of this, we unfortunately all get lost in the ‘gray.’ By ‘gray’, I refer to living life with both fear and trust simultaneously. How can we live an efficient life and maximize our potential if we are unsure of the rules that govern our experiences?
Ultimately free will allows us to choose how we live. However, when fear is a part of the equation, the result can become unbalanced. People avoid fear; it’s uncomfortable and affects our will to change. When we think of the reasons why we resist change, fear usually dominates the equation.
As a healthcare practitioner, my role to help others was made possible by their fear. All of my patients had one common trait in which they struggled: their health. Health is a demanding challenge. Most people pursue health because they fear disease, death, or a poor quality of life. The most uncomfortable thing for me was to see these individuals suffer from their fear. Unknowingly, their fears had created their health ailments.
At the start of my chiropractic career, I believed that physical treatment both created and supported optimal health. At that time, both the patient and I were focused on the physical solution and missed any underlying emotional correlations. Yet, as the depths of our relationship evolved, I soon realized that, at best, I was simply managing their fears. In our current health care model, our focus revolves around the physical solution. Once I was able to look past that physical solution, the root of their condition became clear. As I got to know them, I could see how their flares and exacerbations would coexist with relationship trauma and emotional suppression. Their health was directly influenced by the depth and meaning of their relationships with their family, friends and community.
I began to note a different perspective, one that was shaped around their relationships. The cause of their pain was a direct consequence of their resistance to change or to strengthen a relationship. Without understanding the correlation between relationship and physical health, people make the same mistakes over and over. They manage their pain through a physical solution that they believed was the remedy, only to suffer again when they missed another opportunity to improve their relationships.
For example, one of my patients experienced lower back pain on her right side every time she struggled with her husband’s lack of support. When we talked about it in the present moment, she could see the correlation with her stress. However, she would also try to blame the right-sided pain on a previous injury. After reflecting on the relationship that she was in during the initial injury, she realized that the time, place, and individual may have been different, but the emotional lack of support she endured was very similar. Is that fate or chance? If her lower back hurt on both occasions, how can one be stress related and the other an unfortunate accident?
With each patient encounter, a relationship dysfunction would correlate with a physical symptom to a specific area of their body. The symptom they felt was directly tied to an emotional root. This emotional root was connected to their self-esteem and was being influenced by their relationships. In essence, their dissatisfaction with their relationships negatively influenced their self-esteem, which ultimately hindered their optimal physical health.
In a world structured around physical solutions for health, relationships get lost in the tangle of deception. Transforming relationships is a difficult challenge and is contingent on our willingness to improve our self-esteem. For this insanity to stop, we must choose to change and strengthen our relationships, to reach within and change the way we think and act. Our physical management strategies are not viable long-term solutions. These management strategies temporarily suppress our fears and distract us from our obligations to the Whole.
Whole = Health
Health cannot be an individual pursuit. If we don’t prioritize the Whole, as individuals, we will suffer. Allow me to clarify with a practical explanation. Imagine you are the hand of a body. As the hand, you have a specific function to fulfill. Since the hand is only part of the body, if separated, it would be impossible for it to be whole. For example, the hands help feed the mouth. The rest of the body relies on your function, just as you do theirs. Only when all parts work together in harmony do we become whole.
Health is universal. It affects every single individual, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or philosophy. Health is the physical expression of equality. Regardless of the belief system practiced, health is the common denominator that binds each of us within the Whole.
The Whole-based strategy that I will outline uses our health to guide a shift in perception. This shift will allow us to engage health through a truly holistic approach. In the past, holistic has encompassed the mind, body, and Spirit with a primary focus on the individual. The twist is transcending that individuality into a bigger picture. We must integrate the individual journey into a synchronized relationship within the collective Whole. To accomplish this would require each individual to focus on improved relationship as we embrace better versions of ourselves. Our bodies are designed to lead us to better versions of ourselves. Will we allow them to guide us, or continue to fight them?
When we examine all the external approaches to improving health, we can see why this journey is so confusing and ultimately, exhausting. Physical intervention cannot heal the dysfunction that exists within the Whole. It can only manage poor health (fear) at an individual level. This self-based strategy creates an environment of competition and survival between individuals. In contrast, a symbiotic Whole-based strategy would create an environment that would maximize the potential of the Whole, as well as the individual.
So, what does this Whole-based approach look like? Imagine the human body and all the individual cells that must work together in order for the body to function optimally. Each person in this world would represent an individual cell in that body. For the optimal health of that larger body, each person would have to fulfill their obligation to the Whole. This larger body will be referred to as the “Divine Body.”
The framework of the Divine Body is reflected in the engineering and functioning of our physical bodies. In our physical body, each cell must communicate, synchronize and interact for optimal function. The Divine Body operates under the same principle. It orchestrates optimal situations for communication and reconnection between individuals.
In our present reality, we have lost the balance in our relationships. Our focus is centered merely on our physical existence. Over the course of time, science, technology, and knowledge have evolved drastically. This evolution was driven by our determination to find the next physical solution. These solutions ultimately distract us from the emotional root and unintentionally push us farther apart. When a physical solution no longer provides relief, we are forced to feel the pain of our emotional “dis-ease.” That unrelenting pain motivates us to continue our search.
The notion of “fixing” the physical will never cease. Our drive and determination to understand the physical world is fueled by our inability to satisfy our spiritual desire to reconnect to one another. What we believe will “fix” us is an illusion. What's supposed to heal us is actually contributing to our pain. The idea of using physical solutions and technology to reconnect us is possible. However, the fundamental principle must focus on the way we interact with one another. We must focus on meaningful communication and relationships to correct the imbalance we have created.
In the last seven years, my perspective has changed immensely. I could write book after book on my personal experiences alone. I wanted to believe that what was happening to me was special and that I was different. Don’t we all? I was experiencing the unexplainable again and again; it seemed as if I was trapped in this never-ending cycle of impossibilities. I would highlight my journey by sharing these stories with all who would listen. I was surprised to learn that everyone has a unique story to share. Looks like I wasn’t so special after all. Think about it; we have all experienced the unexplainable at one time or another.
For instance, I found it unbelievable that I reunited with the nurse who was present for my birth all those years ago back in North Carolina. She later moved to the east coast of Florida for a new career. I ended up being raised in North Dakota, then attended chiropractic school in Minnesota. After graduation we moved to Naples, Florida, where I would start my chiropractic career. A new friend would later refer me to her company, and she enrolled me as a Medicare provider. Years into our relationship, I was required to revalidate my Medicare provider information. She noticed the connection when I sent her my birth certificate. The chance of us reuniting that way seemed impossible, and that day absolutely blew my mind. I mean, what are the odds of that? I’ve often shared this story during my lectures on wellness topics. It never failed– someone from the audience would always come up afterwards and share a similar story that seemed just as improbable.
The individual stories I told were just that– and everybody has their stories. Yet, as my experiences accumulated, they seemed to affect the balance in my mind. That constant battle between fear and trust began to shift. In my perception, I began to fear less and trust more. That gray area that confused and tormented me became more and more illuminated. The more I believed everything was connected, the less my fears could distract me from what was truly guiding my experiences.
That shift to trust grew into faith and with that, I took the leap. In theory, I have abandoned the physical explanation of existence. However, my actions depict my commitment; after all, it’s not our thoughts or understanding that matter– it’s our actions. Can we act on behalf of the Whole instead of the individual? I depend on your actions just as much as you depend on mine.
That is the motivation behind Health Reconnected. I wish I could take credit for a new idea or solution to health but ultimately, it’s always been right in front of us– hidden in the gray areas of our lives. The hardest part of this will be to stop our individual search and align our perception within the Whole. We can only be guided if we trust. That trust is the foundation of our existence.
That trust has inspired me to leave the stability of my career in order to spread this essential message. I wish I could say it’s been easy, but simply trusting is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. However, the more I trust, the more the unexplainable continues to guide me through what everyone else believes to be impossible.
I’ve been told countless times that life is all about balance. Physical health is best managed with balance and discipline. Now, expand that thought and superimpose it over the concept of the Divine Body. Can we obtain balance in the Divine Body by acting on individual intentions? If we continue to separate and compete, how will that ultimately affect our existence? Balance has helped manage our physical body, but what would happen if we brought balance back to the Divine Body?
The Divine Body is the creative source to our physical existence. In the present moment, our physical existence is far from balanced. It has been overwhelmed with extremes that no one should have to endure. To rebalance our physical existence will require a collective shift in perception. This Whole-based collective shift would deliver true balance; both our spiritual body and physical body would be in an optimal state. This shift will allow us to align our thoughts and actions, honoring our responsibility to the Divine Body. This is the purpose behind our existence; this shift is what we’ve all been working toward. The choice is yours. Are you ready for a shift in thinking?