What Is Chiropractic Anyway?
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February 24, 2007
WICA (22) The Unmanifest
Chaos Theory, popularized by James Gleick's 1987 best seller [1], is a theory of non linear functions such that small input of the function can result in large and unpredictable differences in the output. In other words: In a linear system, the variables produce an output response. But in a non linear system, the variables merely contribute to the output response. A linear system can be broken down into its separate parts, whereas in a non linear system, the parts interfere, cooperate, or compete with each other [2].
It's a natural tendency for one to look on in deduction and attempt to draw linear conclusions as to why things happen. A this causes a that - but nothing is mono causal. Nothing is causing anything else. Everything is self existent and its appearance is dependent on everything else in the universe, and the point of view from which it is observed [3]. The example I often like to use is that of a heated argument. Two points of view are being hurled vigorously across the living room. Resolution would come from understanding and attempting to construct a similar perspective on the issue before storming off to bed. Yet understanding could only arise from establishing why the argument is occurring in the first place, and this is where Chaos Theory comes in. Each person delivers their debate based upon every factor that's ever influenced them in their life: Parenting, religion, schooling, culture, society, and how they feel at that exact moment. The list is endless: The myriad reasons the opposite individual has no understanding of except for the simple Newtonian this-causes-that observation of the event before them, and then their own understanding of it based on the exact same reasons. Arguing from two separate and distinct histories - it's chaos!
It's a natural tendency for one to look on in deduction and attempt to draw linear conclusions as to why things happen. A this causes a that - but nothing is mono causal. Nothing is causing anything else. Everything is self existent and its appearance is dependent on everything else in the universe, and the point of view from which it is observed [3]. The example I often like to use is that of a heated argument. Two points of view are being hurled vigorously across the living room. Resolution would come from understanding and attempting to construct a similar perspective on the issue before storming off to bed. Yet understanding could only arise from establishing why the argument is occurring in the first place, and this is where Chaos Theory comes in. Each person delivers their debate based upon every factor that's ever influenced them in their life: Parenting, religion, schooling, culture, society, and how they feel at that exact moment. The list is endless: The myriad reasons the opposite individual has no understanding of except for the simple Newtonian this-causes-that observation of the event before them, and then their own understanding of it based on the exact same reasons. Arguing from two separate and distinct histories - it's chaos!
"Because they are Heaven itself, the people of Heaven do not understand that they are in Heaven."
Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei.
Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei.
The lessons of every great spiritual teacher have always had a common thread, in that we are all part of one consciousness and it is only with this understanding that true peace could ever be achieved. With the dawn of science and the quest to understand the laws that govern the universe, it seems at some point we have gone wayward in looking after ourselves and others. Things must have been so much simpler when local and global consciousness wasn't tainted by television and mass media manipulation.
Morihei Ueshiba was the founder of aikido and one of history's greatest martial artists. He was a man that detested fighting and his message was one of peace. Ai-ki-do, meaning the art of peace or the way of harmony. The first principle taught by O Sensei was that aikido is the path which joins all paths of the universe throughout eternity; it is the universal mind which contains all things and unifies all things [4]. Not unlike the major premise of chiropractic, outlined by its founders, that a universal intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence. Great spiritual teachers appreciated chaos as it presented in their time and understood that all which manifests, arises directly out of the unmanifest by the process of creation. It does not arise as an effect of something else, and that there is a this causing a that in what appears to be separate events. O Sensei, a warrior versed in many arts, wrote that the scientific approach to technique is unifying the spirit, mind and physical body, living through the "echo of the body" and making it one with the echo of the universe such that the two mutually interact. "This then brings forth the technique of innumerable and uncountable variations" [4]. He continued to say that it is scientific because it is based on the technical content of the foundation of the correct moral governance of human life.
The first point that arises from this is that the great teachers were formless, seeing that there was no form - no technique - but just that which emerges autonomously out of the unmanifest. Applying linear systems of evaluation and health care to human complexity is a paradigm not congruent with how it actually functions. What you think you're doing is not actually what you're doing. Chaos Theory defined that small input led to large and unpredictable outputs. But we've been doing it for 112 years now, so as traditionalists, please continue to check and adjust the "nerve system" as you do according to the rules, even though differentiation between parasympathetic and sympathetic activity may never be possible due to the ubiquitous nature of the autonomic nervous system [5].
The second point might be perceived as audacious these days, but fortune favours the bold. Why chiropractic will become the leading form of health care is because, with time and shifting of public perception, it can be appreciated once again as a vehicle for consciousness. Gaucher, a chiropractic historian, wrote that in the nineteenth century, one of chiropractic's achievements was that it was able to to contribute, albeit tentatively, to the establishment of a scientific basis for the concept of coenthesis, which means "body sense". A concept of awareness of oneself via the neuroskeleton [6]. Back care? Neck care? Oh how the mighty have fallen. If subluxation distorts your perception of the world around you, and compromises your ability to respond to it, then it is the profession itself that is clearly subluxated. Because in terms of altering global consciousness, not only are we so far from the mark, but the internal perception of chiropractic is so distorted that it cannot possibly respond to the needs of the world around it.
Morihei Ueshiba was the founder of aikido and one of history's greatest martial artists. He was a man that detested fighting and his message was one of peace. Ai-ki-do, meaning the art of peace or the way of harmony. The first principle taught by O Sensei was that aikido is the path which joins all paths of the universe throughout eternity; it is the universal mind which contains all things and unifies all things [4]. Not unlike the major premise of chiropractic, outlined by its founders, that a universal intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence. Great spiritual teachers appreciated chaos as it presented in their time and understood that all which manifests, arises directly out of the unmanifest by the process of creation. It does not arise as an effect of something else, and that there is a this causing a that in what appears to be separate events. O Sensei, a warrior versed in many arts, wrote that the scientific approach to technique is unifying the spirit, mind and physical body, living through the "echo of the body" and making it one with the echo of the universe such that the two mutually interact. "This then brings forth the technique of innumerable and uncountable variations" [4]. He continued to say that it is scientific because it is based on the technical content of the foundation of the correct moral governance of human life.
The first point that arises from this is that the great teachers were formless, seeing that there was no form - no technique - but just that which emerges autonomously out of the unmanifest. Applying linear systems of evaluation and health care to human complexity is a paradigm not congruent with how it actually functions. What you think you're doing is not actually what you're doing. Chaos Theory defined that small input led to large and unpredictable outputs. But we've been doing it for 112 years now, so as traditionalists, please continue to check and adjust the "nerve system" as you do according to the rules, even though differentiation between parasympathetic and sympathetic activity may never be possible due to the ubiquitous nature of the autonomic nervous system [5].
The second point might be perceived as audacious these days, but fortune favours the bold. Why chiropractic will become the leading form of health care is because, with time and shifting of public perception, it can be appreciated once again as a vehicle for consciousness. Gaucher, a chiropractic historian, wrote that in the nineteenth century, one of chiropractic's achievements was that it was able to to contribute, albeit tentatively, to the establishment of a scientific basis for the concept of coenthesis, which means "body sense". A concept of awareness of oneself via the neuroskeleton [6]. Back care? Neck care? Oh how the mighty have fallen. If subluxation distorts your perception of the world around you, and compromises your ability to respond to it, then it is the profession itself that is clearly subluxated. Because in terms of altering global consciousness, not only are we so far from the mark, but the internal perception of chiropractic is so distorted that it cannot possibly respond to the needs of the world around it.
© Neil Bossenger 2007
New Zealand
Notes and references
- Gleick, J. (1987) Chaos. Making a new science. New York: Penguin.
- Strogatz, S. H. (1994) Nonlinear dynamics and chaos. With applications to physics, biology, chemistry and engineering. Reading (MA): Addison-Wesley.
- Hawkins, D. R. (2001) The Eye of the I. USA: Veritas Publishing.
- Memoirs of Morihei Usehiba O Sensei.
- Schumacher, A. (2004) Linear and nonlinear approaches to the anaylsis of R-R interval variability. Biological research for nursing. 5(3): p. 211-219.
- Gaucher-Pelsherbe, P. L. (1994) Chiropractic: Early concepts in their historical setting.
- Past issues are now available at the WICA homepage.
- If you received this letter as a forward and would like to be added to the mailing list directly, please send an e-mail to neil.nzchiro@gmail.com with 'add me' in the subject line.
February 11, 2007
WICA (21) Shift Happens
"Another habit of the mind that creates temporary obstacles is the frequent use of the hypothetical as a source for argument and doubt. It is always possible for the intellect to construct an imaginary set of concepts in such a way to refute anything."
David R. Hawkins, M.D., PhD.
David R. Hawkins, M.D., PhD.
The world is broken and we're fixing it the wrong way. Put your hand up and be proud to be a part of the sixth major extinction. The Earth is losing about three species per hour, which equates to around 30,000 species per annum [1]. Put your hand up and order another Sports Utility Vehicle to help tweak the mean global temperature up another balmy five degrees to drown every major coastal metropolitan city by 2050, even though only 5% of you will ever take that SUV off road [2]. Rationalism doesn't override aesthetics when explaining that an SUV, being top heavy, is three times more likely to roll than smaller car, which can usually seat the same number of passengers, and six times more likely to cause a fatality when chasing the amber.
Bolide: Fire from the sky. A brilliant meteoric fireball collides with Earth 245 million years ago and extinguishes 90% of the world's species. 65 million years ago it happens again and finishes up the dinosaurs for good. Consensus has emerged in the past decade that the fifth major extinction was actually caused by multiple bogies, probably even cometary. And here I was only a few weeks ago, gazing at a quaint shooting star dazzle past my doorway, sighing a quiet wish for peace over Nazareth and Santa to bring me a big, shiny, fuel efficient truck.
Of course the problem is always outside in. With the mentality that Earth can be saved by sending an interstellar war machine to intercept a potentially cataclysmic meteor, it's little wonder our generation is so sick, diseased, depressed and genetically challenged, since wars are being launched against everything. Every micro organism we come in contact with; the war on obesity; the war on attention deficiency; the war on ugliness. Hail to the Fourth Reich of perfectly engineered homo sapiens. War begets war - and nobody's getting any better. Our landscape changes. Species are exploited. The world is polluted. The population expands and doesn't meet its own needs appropriately as the cost of health exceeds the rate of sickness. Was life meant to be this difficult?
Well, sir, the results have come back from the lab and it turns out you have rheumatoid arthritis. Oh thank God for that. Um, let's leave God out of this for a minute, we've got enough hypothetical constructs to deal with. So now you know. Now that you've attached a medical term to the condition we can all carry on with our day and everyone you meet can learn how "rheumatoid arthritis" limits your quality of life. It's what you have and there's nothing you can do because you were genetically predisposed, right? The doctor said so, and Lord knows we all need something to talk about round the water cooler. It must have come from somewhere and thus the mind externalises the entity and consequentially searches for the external fix.
Health from the inside out is a completely contrary paradigm, requiring a major shift to look at a different picture through a new frame of mind. Often this shift demands too much energy to dismantle one's belief system about health and how it is achieved, so it's discarded and nothing changes. For instance, if one believes the body has the ability to heal itself through a tempered balance of nervous system and environment, why take decongestants when feeling congested? Even though it makes sense to rational intelligence, our actions are limited by the hypothetical constructs the mind creates to refute a different approach to becoming healthy. One cannot expect a different result by constantly performing the same action. So the next step is motivation. What is the motivation needed to deconstruct belief and assume responsibility for one's health?
If things don't change, they stay the same.
Bolide: Fire from the sky. A brilliant meteoric fireball collides with Earth 245 million years ago and extinguishes 90% of the world's species. 65 million years ago it happens again and finishes up the dinosaurs for good. Consensus has emerged in the past decade that the fifth major extinction was actually caused by multiple bogies, probably even cometary. And here I was only a few weeks ago, gazing at a quaint shooting star dazzle past my doorway, sighing a quiet wish for peace over Nazareth and Santa to bring me a big, shiny, fuel efficient truck.
Of course the problem is always outside in. With the mentality that Earth can be saved by sending an interstellar war machine to intercept a potentially cataclysmic meteor, it's little wonder our generation is so sick, diseased, depressed and genetically challenged, since wars are being launched against everything. Every micro organism we come in contact with; the war on obesity; the war on attention deficiency; the war on ugliness. Hail to the Fourth Reich of perfectly engineered homo sapiens. War begets war - and nobody's getting any better. Our landscape changes. Species are exploited. The world is polluted. The population expands and doesn't meet its own needs appropriately as the cost of health exceeds the rate of sickness. Was life meant to be this difficult?
Well, sir, the results have come back from the lab and it turns out you have rheumatoid arthritis. Oh thank God for that. Um, let's leave God out of this for a minute, we've got enough hypothetical constructs to deal with. So now you know. Now that you've attached a medical term to the condition we can all carry on with our day and everyone you meet can learn how "rheumatoid arthritis" limits your quality of life. It's what you have and there's nothing you can do because you were genetically predisposed, right? The doctor said so, and Lord knows we all need something to talk about round the water cooler. It must have come from somewhere and thus the mind externalises the entity and consequentially searches for the external fix.
Health from the inside out is a completely contrary paradigm, requiring a major shift to look at a different picture through a new frame of mind. Often this shift demands too much energy to dismantle one's belief system about health and how it is achieved, so it's discarded and nothing changes. For instance, if one believes the body has the ability to heal itself through a tempered balance of nervous system and environment, why take decongestants when feeling congested? Even though it makes sense to rational intelligence, our actions are limited by the hypothetical constructs the mind creates to refute a different approach to becoming healthy. One cannot expect a different result by constantly performing the same action. So the next step is motivation. What is the motivation needed to deconstruct belief and assume responsibility for one's health?
If things don't change, they stay the same.
© Neil Bossenger 2007
New Zealand
Notes and references
- Eldredge, N. The Sixth Extinction. 2001, USA: American Institute of Biological Sciences.
- Naughton, K. The Unstoppable SUV. 2001, USA: Newsweek.
- Congratulations to all the graduands of NZCC 2006!
- Past issues are now available at the WICA homepage.
- If you received this letter as a 'forward' and would like to be added to the mailing list directly, please send an e-mail to neil.nzchiro@gmail.com with 'add me' in the subject line.
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