What Is Chiropractic Anyway?

Man's destiny is shaped by seemingly small events. A phone call that wasn't made or a flight that was missed. The course is altered rapidly with chaotic, exponential effects in a direction completely different to what one might have intended. In fact, chaos is defined as exactly that: A small variation in initial conditions producing wildly different results. This is an interruption to a pattern due to minuscule change, and new results are only ever achieved by interrupting patterns.

I hardly ever plan these articles, least of all intentionally attempt to script passages from the bible into my work, but the words 'mustard seed' came immediately to the fore when I was considering this topic and I have no idea why. Given that I understood the universe is governed by an organizing intelligence and we all exist as one pervasive consciousness from an early age, I never even listened in bible school. Yet somehow, because there is no such thing as causality, because everything is the result of everything else in its totality, the parable was on my frequency at this moment:

Another story by way of comparison He set forth before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. Of all the seeds it is the smallest, but when it has grown it is the largest of the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and find shelter in its branches [2].

The sages of our world's history that operated within the levels of peace and enlightenment were the Great Teachers and, like Jesus, taught through parables. From the onset they were open to interpretation because if the Teachers weren't, then they would merely be telling people what to think, do and believe. One is encouraged to seek what they sought.

The adjustment is what happens after the hands leave the body. And therein is the moment of change. Chiropractic affects change at a subconscious level and neurological associations are altered without one being aware. The interruption of old patterns provides a small window of opportunity to be still. For just a moment. The mustard seed was generally the smallest amongst seeds sown in the garden, but the parable was interpreted to mean that great things start from seemingly small seeds of information or a suggestion.

D.D. Palmer defined the mental impulse as "an incitement of the mind by innate or spirit in the form of an abrupt and vivid suggestion, prompting some unpremeditated action or leading to unforeseen knowledge" [3]. The body uses the suggestive information in a process of self creation. Self creation means moving forward, not moving backward to a status before one's visit to the chiropractor. To evolve. To be more creative in one's life. The kingdom is the here and now, readily accessible and deserved by everyone.

The concept of mental impulse is highly debated within the chiropractic fraternity and since society functions primarily at the level of reason, it is refuted because it cannot be measured. D.D.'s son, B.J. Palmer, suggested that the innate intelligence of the body is the "sum total of individualistic mental impulses, each of which is composed of multitudes of intellectual immaterial units of energy, after they have been received at the brain and transformed for the needs of the body" [4]. Quite simply, intention shapes the matrix of this intelligence and you ultimately become what you think.

The overwhelming evidence that supports dramatic improvement in quality of life through chiropractic care [5-9] oftentimes cannot be explained by reason and, like religious dogma, is condemned to Hades because it is too much for the intellect to compute. The irony is though that the less one thinks about it, the easier it becomes to understand.

© Neil R. Bossenger 2007

New Zealand

Notes

1. Hawkins, D., The consciousness level of America, in The Highest Level of Enlightenment, Nightingale Conant: USA.
2. Matthew 13: 31-32., The Amplified Bible. 1983, USA: Zondervan Publishing House.
3. Palmer, D.D., The Chiropractor's Adjustor. 1910, Portland: Portland Printing House Company.
4. Senzon, S., A history of the mental impulse: Theoretical construct or scientific reality? Chiropractic History, 2001. 21(2): p. 64.
5. Blanks, R.H.I. and T.L. Schuster, A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 1997. 1(4): p. 1.
6. Boone, W.R., et al., Physical, physiological, and immune status changes, coupled with self-perceptions of health and quality of life, in subjects receiving chiropractic care: A pilot study. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 2006. July 5: p. 1-6.
7. Hannon, S.M., Objective Physiologic Changes and Associated Health Benefits of Chiropractic Adjustments in Asymptomatic Subjects: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 2004. April 26: p. 1-9.
8. Kirk, R., et al., Quality of Life Changes in a Disadvantaged, Underserved Chiropractic Patient Population: A Retrospective Case Series Report. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 2005. April 15: p. 1-3.
9. Marino, M.J. and M.L. Phillippa, A longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health wellness & quality of life: a preliminary study. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 1999. 3(2): p. 1-9.
10. Past issues are now available at the WICA homepage.
11. 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.

posted by Neil Bossenger  # 10:57 pm