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  • Noticing the Space

    “Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
    In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.
    In our response lies our growth and freedom.”

    ~ Victor Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning

    What pushes your buttons? What is it about that annoying family member, friend or work colleague that has the ability to “get on your goat”?

    It is common for people who come to see me to be feeling stressed and having symptoms of this stress, such as neck and shoulder pain, headaches, anxiety and digestive upsets. When we look at the source of this stress they speak about the negative effects they feel when someone around them does or says something in particular, i.e. they “push their buttons”.

    We all have lots of things that “push our buttons” apart from individual people; perhaps it’s someone driving a car too closely behind us or cutting us off. There are a wide range of triggers which build up through a person’s life including physical and emotional trauma, foods and chemicals, and mental stressors.

    Our stress response is simply a form of protection (defence) that occurs when we respond to a situation that we perceive as threatening. Our brain and body accesses our vast memory store and becomes hyper-vigilant to these threats. As a result, a minor experience (such as that annoying person saying the thing that bugs you) can cause a significant reaction within you that is disproportionate to the initial triggering event.

    Our response to stress is a clever and primitive reaction to a threat and is critical for our survival. In a stress-responsive state we need lots of energy in the limbs to either flee or fight. This causes energy to be diverted from other high energy requirements such as our immune system, digestion and higher cognitive functions. As a short term response the stress response is essential; but in the long term it leads to the chronic illnesses, pain, anxiety and depression experienced by many of us.

    We give our brain far too much credit for being ‘smart’. Its real focus is protection. Good health, as the result of reduced stress, requires the brain to have an accurate perception of what’s going on both within the body and beyond. An accurate perception of threat is critical but it is distorted by the mind’s understanding of the threat which is inevitably based on its past experiences.

     

    So how do we increase the “space” and find the “freedom and power” mentioned in the Victor Frankl quote above?

    First, consider that 10% of your life is made up things that are beyond your control, while 90% of your life is decided by how you react. What does this mean?

    We really don’t have control over a lot of what happens to us. A driver cuts us off in traffic, someone arrives late, or someone says something offensive. But that is only 10% our experiences. The other 90% is different: you determine this 90% of your life by your reactions. You cannot control a red light, but you can control your reaction to it.

    Being free to choose your reaction to potentially stressful situations requires you to focus on enlarging the “space” between what happens (the stimulus) and your reaction (the response).

    As we mature, the apparent size of our “space” is constrained by many things: our genetic makeup, our society’s and family’s norms, our experiences and our present circumstances. But in addition, we are born with a great gift – the freedom to choose. Exercising this freedom, and its associated power, is the key to creating more “space”.

    So the key to a happier, healthier and more creative life is to work towards developing “space”. The key to increasing our “space” is noticing – noticing how we have reacted to situations as we go through our daily lives but not judging ourselves for having reacted in a certain way. Noticing is when we suddenly realise we are observing our reaction, not just being stuck in it and it going around and around in our mind.

    The noticing might be only a split second. In that time if we notice our noticing, we will observe that it is accompanied by a calm presence and eventually (after as many cycles of noticing that are necessary) …..a resolution.

    “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
    And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change;
    until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.”

    ~ R. D. Laing

    We might start by noticing our reaction up to 48 hours (or longer) after an event, in that time we have continued to be reactive; with the event going around and around in our mind. When we do notice our reaction to a particular event and still feel an emotional charge attached to it (which often involves blaming someone or something), then we can decide to let it go. Sometimes you will notice your reaction again much later than the event that triggered it. The trick is to keep noticing (but not judging) your reaction to this event, as it recurs in your memory.

    What is the advantage of not judging your reaction? Judging is a job of the mind. But your mind tends to use past experiences as a measuring stick to judge current ones. The mind needs help to find a way towards resolution.

    “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”       ~  Albert Einstein

    People who come to see me for Network Care often comment that, as a result of their visits, they notice that people and situations that previously “pressed their buttons” gradually become less significant for them. They can come to see the person or situation from a different perspective as more “space” to make choices has been freed up in themselves.

    This can be because their “buttons” are no longer connected to old patterns of stress (sometimes referred to as “wounds”) so they become less reactive; they have more choice.  There is growth and freedom.

    Interestingly, a person’s opening up of space can have the positive effect of opening up space in their protagonists.

     

     

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  • We Can Still Grow in Winter

    We Can Still Grow in Winter

    Winter is the season of recovery and preparation. The cold draws us within ourselves and within our close social groups.

    We often find ourselves closed down by the cold, damp and dreary days. In this state we can choose to either find new depths of connection within; or wallow in our stories of how miserable we are.

    Winter encourages us to notice the subtleties in nature – the noble structure of bare trees, the shape of amassing clouds or the exquisite gleam of sunlight on the frosty ground.

    Be inspired by nature’s ever-changing rhythms and nurture change and growth in our own lives and relationships.

    From a physiological perspective:

    When our mind perceives that our environment is safe and supportive (when we are at peace within ourselves and the world) the body’s cells are the able to grow and maintain their proper functioning.  In stressful situations, cells forego their normal growth functions and adopt a defensive ‘protection’ posture. The body’s energy resources normally used to sustain growth are diverted to systems that provide protection during periods of stress.

    In other words, growth processes are restricted or suspended in a stressed system. While our systems can accommodate periods of acute (brief) stress, prolonged or chronic stress is debilitating. Stress (physical, emotional, mental or chemical) interferes with the energy requirements needed for optimal health and as a consequence, leads to dysfunction and disease.

    Our whole posture and health are a reflection of the state of growth or defence of our 60 trillion cells. They can’t be in growth and defence at the same time.

    It is important to be aware of our physical state in relationship to our emotions and the way the natural environment can assist us.

    Network Care can enhance your ability to maintain a positive state of growth, breaking free from the lingering aliments and aches and pains of winter. Come in for a tune up to assist your recovery and preparation for what’s ahead.

    Take heed of the message expressed by Wendell Berry’s poem and spend some time communing with our wonderful, wintery environment. The simple message of this poem is beautifully expressed. Be at peace and be free.

    The Peace of Wild Things

    When despair for the world grows in me

    and I wake in the night at the least sound

    in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

    I go and lie down where the wood drake

    rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

    I come into the peace of wild things

    who do not tax their lives with forethought

    of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

    And I feel above me the day-blind stars

    waiting with their light. For a time

    I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

    Wendall Berry

    Photo: Snow near Ballan taken by Luba Bradford.

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  • Living in the Flow

     

     

    We are “In The Flow” when we are fully engaged in an activity. When this occurs we feel immersed in that activity to the exclusion of all else and time passes quickly. People regularly describe these experiences as some of the best of their lives.

    “Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”

    “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

    Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas on flow stemmed from the research he undertook to discover a path to happiness. He wanted to figure out “how to live life as a work of art, rather than as a chaotic response to external events.”

    What’s going on with us when we’re ‘In the Flow’

    * We are completely involved, focused, and concentrating – either due to innate curiosity or as the result of training.

    * We have a sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality. The definition of ecstasy is a happy state of being outside the normal.

    * We have great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done and how well it is going.

    * We lose self-consciousness – we know that our skills are adequate, and we are neither anxious nor bored.

    * We have a sense of serenity – no self-doubt, or worries about other people’s opinions – afterwards a feeling of transcending ego in ways not thought possible.

    * We have a feeling of timeliness – thoroughly focused on present, don’t notice time passing.

    * We are intrinsically motivated – whatever produces “flow” becomes its own reward.

    Flow ChartThe more skilled we become at a task, the greater the opportunity to experience “flow”. Therefore the more skilled we become, the more able we are to take on greater challenges without becoming stressed. We can operate at a higher level.

    From a Network Care perspective, as a person progresses through the levels of care they tend to become less tense and more energized. They then have the possibility of reaching higher flow states. Life becomes more a work of art rather than a chaotic response to external events.

    Reference: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. HarperCollins.

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  • Are You a Transition Person?

    Every day in my practice, I help and I am inspired by people who have the qualities of a “Transition Person”. The expression “Transition Person” has been defined as:

    “A person who breaks unhealthy, harmful, abusive or unfortunate learned behaviours and replaces them with proactive, helpful, effective behaviours.  This person models positive behaviours and passes on effective habits that strengthen and build others in positive ways.” ~ Stephen Covey

    In my experience, “Transition People” experience a deep desire stand up and be a positive example to others in their family, peer group, work place or other community group. Something within them says “enough of this, there is a better, more productive, more fulfilling way to live life.” Often it is not obvious to them where this desire comes from and how it has evolved.

    I see Transition People as having developed the ability to listen to the authentic voice  that comes from deeper within rather than just the “normal” little voice we hear chattering away all the time. Our little voice is very good at convincing us to ignore the authentic voice, telling us that we will cause trouble, look bad etc. if we listen to our authentic voice.

    Transition People see un-resourceful patterns in themselves, their families/group that are repeated generation after generation. One woman I see described it as like observing a pattern passed from her grandparents, to her parents and on to her siblings of repeatedly walking down a road, falling down a hole, struggling out of the hole, only to walk down the road again and fall into the same hole.

    The life of a Transition Person can be very challenging because changing deep seated patterns requires a lot of energy. In my experience many Transition People experience significant health challenges in themselves. The courage they display in continually working towards creating positive change, despite set-backs along the way,  is inspiring to me and others who observe their lives.

    Being a Transition Person requires hard work, humility, trustworthiness and a long term vision. Often their stand may not be appreciated by other people especially their immediate family or siblings. In fact it often seems to be the case that the siblings cause the most difficulty. Despite this, it may be the daughter or son of a sibling, who grows up observing and interacting with the “crazy aunt” or “eccentric uncle”, and thus is inspired to express a better and more fulfilling life.

    From a practice perspective pretty much everyone who comes to see me is in a stage of becoming Transition Person. They know (or have an inkling) that there is a part of them that is ready and wanting to change. As their Care progresses from initially the relief of symptoms to building up energy for change, this part of them is saying “Enough of this, things are going to change, it’s my responsibility and I have a plan to make it happen!”  Click on the link for information about the Levels of Network care.

    Stephen Covey also asserts that:

    “Transition persons transcend their own needs and tap into the deepest, most noble impulses of human nature.
    In times of darkness, they are lights, not judges; models, not critics.
    In periods of discord, they are change catalysts, not victims; healers, not carriers.
    Today’s world needs more transition persons. Trust yourself to become one of the best, and watch your influence grow.”

    Mahatma Gandhi suggested that people should focus first on improving themselves and then allow others to be inspired by their example, their determination, and their integrity to values. These days we need as many uplifting and positive role models as possible to lean on, learn from, and emulate. By following Gandhi’s mantra:

    “Become the change you seek in this world.”

    Perhaps you and I can become that uplifting energy for others, as well as for ourselves.

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  • Emotions – Energy in Motion

    When we feel an emotion, what we are really sensing is the vibration of a particular energy. Think of emotion as the movement of energy – energy in motion. Each emotion has its own vibratory signature.

    Science and medicine had long been convinced that thoughts and emotions originate in the brain. However, modern research is proving that thoughts and emotions are energy vibrations that occur in our body, specifically in the matrix of connective tissue which interconnects all cells, tissues and organs.

    These energy vibrations are then perceived by our brain, where they are processed and verbalised according to our acquired expectations and beliefs. The brain’s function is to assign meaning and to create narratives around these emotions. It is therefore becoming evident that an emotional sensation and the meaning ascribed to it by our brain can be separate from each other.

    Emotions are expressed over a short period of minutes to an hour or two. When a person says they are some particular emotion e.g. “I am an angry person” and they’re not expressing that emotion – there is no energy in motion. When a person is thinking an emotion instead of expressing it, there can be no chance for them to use the energy of their emotion (in this example, anger) to bring about change.

    Our emotional state is created by the amount of energy we have in motion. When energy is blocked (lack of motion) we tend towards apathy and depression. Note that exercise i.e. movement of the body, can be effective in relief of depression. Too much energy in motion can cause us to feel anxious or over emotional.

    Normal levels of emotions facilitate an energy flow that can help us break unconscious patterns of thinking and acting.

    They are the impetus for action and change in our lives for the better.

    Your body cannot tell the difference between an actual experience that triggers an emotional response, and an emotion fabricated by a thought process or narrative. Worrying about a disaster that might potentially occur can generate a negative emotion. You can have a thought that generates emotion in your body which is then returned to your brain in a never ending cycle.

    We are protected from becoming overwhelmed by our body’s ability to hold the energy of an emotion in the connective tissue matrix. This “held” energy can become lodged anywhere in your body and is stuck there until something facilitates its release. The stuck energy negatively affects the normal energetic flow, and therefore can impact upon the health of your body at all levels; cells, tissues and organs.

    Network Chiropractic Care can help you to access areas of stuck energy. It is an efficient process that gradually delves down through the layers, safely freeing up stuck energy which manifests as thoughts and emotions. Gradually, as energy is released, a person may feel more in control of their emotions and have more energy to do the things that are important in their lives.

    The body maps in the diagram at the top of the page show regions whose activation increased (warm colors) or decreased (cool colors) when feeling each emotion. From “Bodily Maps of Emotions” http://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646.full.pdf.

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  • Compassion: The Less You Suffer, the Kinder You Naturally Become.

     

    by Byron Katie

    Some people think that compassion means feeling another person’s pain. That’s nonsense. It’s not possible to feel another person’s pain. You imagine what you’d feel if you were in that person’s shoes, and you feel your own projection. Who would you be without your story? Pain-free, happy, and totally available if someone needs you — a listener, a teacher in the house, a Buddha in the house, the one who lives it. As long as you think there’s a you and a me, let’s get the bodies straight. What I love about separate bodies is that when you hurt, I don’t — it’s not my turn. And when I hurt, you don’t. Can you be there for me without putting your own suffering between us? Your suffering can’t show me the way. Suffering can only teach suffering.

    The Buddhists say that it’s important to recognize the suffering in the world, and that’s true, of course. But if you look more deeply, even that is a story. It’s a story to say that there is any suffering in the world. Suffering is imagined, because we haven’t adequately questioned our thoughts. I am able to be present with people in extreme states of torment without seeing their suffering as real. I’m in the position of being totally available to help them see what I see, if that’s what they want. They’re the only ones who can change, but I can be present, with kind words and the power of inquiry.

    It’s amazing how many people believe that suffering is a proof of love. If I don’t suffer when you suffer, they think, it means that I don’t love you. How can that possibly be true? Love is serene; it’s fearless. If you’re busy projecting what someone’s pain must feel like, how can you be fully present with her? How can you hold her hand and love her with all your heart as she moves through her experience of pain? Why would she want you to be in pain, too? Wouldn’t she rather have you present and available? You can’t be present for people if you believe that you’re feeling their pain.

    Sadness is always a sign that you’re believing a stressful thought that isn’t true for you. It’s a constriction, and it feels bad. Conventional wisdom says differently, but the truth is that sadness isn’t rational, it isn’t a natural response, and it can’t ever help you. It just indicates the loss of reality, the loss of the awareness of love. Sadness is the war with what is. It’s a tantrum. You can experience it only when you’re arguing with God. When the mind is clear, there isn’t any sadness. There can’t be.

    If you move into situations of loss in a spirit of surrender to what is, all you experience is a profound sweetness and an excitement about what can come out of the apparent loss. And once you question the mind, once the stressful story is seen for what it is, there’s nothing you can do to make it hurt. You see that the worst loss you’ve experienced is the greatest gift you can have. When the story arises again — “She shouldn’t have died” or “He shouldn’t have left” — it’s experienced with a little humour, a little joy. Life is joy, and if you understand the illusion arising, you understand that it’s you arising, as joy.

    You don’t have to feel bad to act kindly. On the contrary: The less you suffer, the kinder you naturally become. And if compassion means wanting others to be free of suffering, how can you want for others what you won’t give to yourself?

    The end of suffering happens in this very moment, whether you’re watching a terrorist attack or doing the dishes. And compassion begins at home. Because I don’t believe my thoughts, sadness can’t exist. That’s how I can go to the depths of anyone’s suffering, if they invite me, and take them by the hand and walk them out of it into the sunlight of reality. I’ve taken the walk myself.

    I’ve heard people say that they cling to their painful thoughts because they’re afraid that without them they wouldn’t be activists for peace. “If I felt completely peaceful,” they say, “why would I bother taking action at all?” My answer is, “Because that’s what love does.” To think that we need sadness or outrage to motivate us to do what’s right is insane. As if the clearer and happier you get, the less kind you become. As if when someone finds freedom, she just sits around all day with drool running down her chin. My experience is the opposite. Love is action. It’s clear, it’s kind, it’s effortless, and it’s irresistible.

    This article, written by Byron Katie, was published in The Huffington Post and can be found at Compassion: The Less You Suffer, the Kinder You Naturally Become. For more about Byron Katie go the her website The Work by Byron Katie.

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  • Core Strength – Questioning the Prevailing Beliefs

    There has been much emphasis on the concept of building core strength over recent years; it’s a concept that is incomplete to me. I see the key issue is actually core energy not core strength: I will explain.

    The “core” refers to the lower part of the body: the pelvis, the lower back, the abdominal wall, and the diaphragm, and this region’s ability to stabilise the body during movement. Every activity we do in life, from running to swallowing, is more efficient when we have a stable and yet flexible core. It’s a dynamic stability that involves a balance of movement and strength of our connective tissue: our bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and the matrix of connective tissue that interconnects them.

    It’s more about how you can use your energy than about your strength.

    Try sitting in a slouched position and taking a sip of a drink and swallowing, notice your inner feelings. Next sit in an upright and relaxed posture (engaging your core) and have another sip. Observe the difference in how you feel between the two postures. While you may feel stronger and more energetic (and perhaps that the drink “went down” better) in the upright posture, you didn’t strengthen your core but simply used its current strength more efficiently. That is, it was more about energy than strength.

    Because the core muscles and other connective tissue components are being used every day to maintain posture and for activities – sitting, walking, breathing, digesting etc.; they are already as strong as they need to be. My experience is that when people are told that they have a lack of core strength (“a weak core”), the problem isn’t weakness in their core muscles but the fact that these muscles and other aspects of the connective tissue matrix are too tight!

    It is a fact that a tight core is weaker than a core that is relaxed.

    It is a fact that a tight core is weaker than a core that is relaxed. Many people advising on exercise recommend exercises to “strengthen the core”. There are two problems with this: putting exercise strain on already tight muscles causes them to become even tighter and it focuses on the muscles when the main restriction may well be in the connective tissue matrix.

    Muscle building exercises put more stress into the core and can increase the stresses on other pelvic and abdominal structures, e.g. vertebral discs and the pelvic and abdominal organs. This can have a negative effect on the function of these organs and discs. Stress or trauma can become even more embedded when working these already tight tissues.

    So how do the core muscles become too tight?

    So how do the core muscles become too tight? These muscles and the rest of the connective tissue matrix react strongly (often without people noticing) to the stresses we experience throughout our lives. The cause of the stresses can be physical, emotional, mental or chemical.

    Think of what happens to the muscles in your pelvic region when you have a sudden fear. Try it: tense your body in the way you would if you were experiencing fear and notice the parts of body where you feel that tension. For most people the tension is mainly noticed in the upper body, neck and shoulders. Tense your body again and take particular notice of the way the deep muscles in your abdomen and pelvis tighten. This lower body tightening is often not noticed by the person experiencing the stress.

    So how can we release this deep set tension? Rather than putting more effort into an already “stuck” core (there is high energy stuck there that we cannot access) with strengthening exercises, we need to use methods to connect to and relax the tension.

    The Network Chiropractic and Matrix Repatterning techniques that I use are an efficient and effective way to achieve that release and gain the extra energy and better body and organ function that is denied because of deep tension.

    As this release occurs you will be able to further improve the dynamic stability of your core with Pilates and yoga sessions and other forms of exercise. Meditation is another component to making the connections you desire to enhance your energy and posture. As the result of these changes you will also experience benefits in other aspects of your  life.

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  • Living on the Edge of Chaos

    We all live on the edge of chaos every time something changes. It does not matter what the change is or when the change occurred. This change can be personal, national, financial, emotional, or psychological. It can be external or internal. When change happens we are forced to move to the edge of chaos to deal with it.

    This is particularly true if the situation forcing our change is new to us: divorce, bankruptcy, unanticipated wealth, death of a loved one, business failure, rules change, failed relationships, etc.

    Living on the edge of chaos is where all great ideas happen and real change (personal, professional, interpersonal) occurs. This is what we need to learn to deal with and manage so that it does not destroy us, force us into fear based decisions or make us complacent.

    Living on the edge of chaos forces us to think differently to solve a problem. Living on the edge of chaos forces us to make painful choices, to think differently about a situation, to solicit new inputs, and take new actions to fully experience the pain this change has caused.

    Living on the edge of chaos, for this change to be effective, requires that we take in information that may not have been important in the past. It requires that we take ownership of the situation, for in total ownership we are empowered to take the action required. If we do not own something we cannot effectively change it.

    Living on the edge of chaos requires that we think about the situation from a more global perspective. It requires us to see things as they are, not as we want them to be. It requires us to understand the impact of our actions on others. It requires us to make informed, responsible and deliberate choices.

    Out of chaos we are able to create a new higher sense of order that allows us to be flexible enough to better deal with the problems of being human.  Interestingly though, we are totally “in control” only went we are totally okay with whatever happens. We develop a sense of trust, not such that everything will be magically alright, but a trust that we will handle whatever happens in the best way that our resources will allow. We watch with awareness the chaos arising without judging ourselves. It does require us to note our actions and learn from our observations how we can act more faithfully from now on by being accepting of ourselves and being fair and objective. It’s a “tough love” approach.

    Network Chiropractic Care can offer support for a life on the edge of chaos. As we further develop in the levels of Network Care, in association with other positive actions such as observing our eating habits or changing our levels of physical activity or increasing community involvement or focusing on our relationships and our spiritual practices, we begin to find living at the edge of chaos is really interesting. In fact we welcome the chaos because we know that by accepting its challenge we become more able to contribute to the world.

    A commitment to Network Care can enable us to become more resourceful and therefore break through chaos and into a new way of feeling, thinking and acting. Network care can also enkindle the creation of the chaos necessary for change. More importantly however, it can be the facilitator for moving beyond the chaos.

    Adapted from “Living on the Edge of  Chaos” by Ron  Finklestein

    More Chaos

    To learn more about the chaos we experience, click on the link to this article: I Love Chaos Bill Harris . While the article is quite long, it’s well worth the read if you are interested in this subject.  Bill Harris is the director of Centerpointe Research Institute the producers of Holosync audio meditation programs. I have used these programs for about 6 years and have found them to be very powerful.

    Bill writes a blog which has many interesting articles written in his conversational style. Some of his more recent posts are more about political and financial topics, I find some of his most interesting posts are the earlier ones about the stages of development humans go through. You can access these by clicking on the month and year of the post on Archives section of his blog page.

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  • “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”

    “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”

     ~ Dr Wayne Dyer

    Dr Dyer’s quote invokes the famous double slit experiment in physics. When scientists look, on a microscopic level, at a light beam passing through a pair of slits in a panel, their observation of the experiment changes the behaviour of the light beam from either a wave (movement of energy) to a particle (movement of particles) or vice versa. This is in the area of quantum physics, where science is not only stranger than you think; it is stranger than you can think.
    Our health is an example of something that can change as a result of the way in which it is observed. I’d argue that there are significantly different outcomes for our health depending on how one looks at it.

    The mechanical view dominates our society’s understanding of how our bodies function. This view tends to see the body in terms of its separate parts, albeit working together; and specialises in focussing on a specific part of the body when faced with a crisis. This view is reflected in our medical system.

    Alternatively, there is the wholistic view, which includes the mechanistic approach but adds a broader, more interconnected interpretation of how our bodies work.  Emotional, mental, social and environmental aspects are included in a wholistic perspective of health.  A wholistic understanding of health doesn’t “throw out” the mechanical view as there useful parts to this approach that can be included within the wholistic view.

    A good illustration of the differences in the two approaches is the way we look at our bones.

    Do you think of your skeleton as a whole lot of bones joined together, or a dynamic structure giving form and strength?

    After looking at an image, a medical practitioner would commonly diagnose “arthritis”, and would suggest that any pain experienced comes from the condition of the bones as seen in the x-ray. This interpretation reflects a mechanistic view.

    However, if we regard the body as a responsive, adaptable system we can describe what is shown in the same x-ray as follows:

    • there have been stresses that have impacted on this area of the spine
    • the stress may have occurred through an injury
    • the stress has a postural component and relates to other stresses – mental, emotional, nutritional (poor nutrition or the body’s response to toxicity.)

    Importantly, what appears on the x-ray relates to many aspects of one’s life and not just the bones in one’s neck.

    There is no scientific evidence of the presence of spinal degeneration seen on x-ray correlating with the patient’s pain or other symptoms.

    Judging from the x-ray, I would also suggest that the body has “done its best” to cope with the stresses in the neck. In fact, it is the body’s response to stress which has led to the diagnosis of “arthritis”, manifesting as pain.

    Looking at the same x-ray from a wholistic perspective, the observations change:

    • increased density of the bone around the joints is the body’s way of strengthening a weakness (seen as more whiteness on x-ray)
    • bone spurs – which are actually ligaments containing extra calcium which the body deposits to give strength and stability to a stressed joint.
    • disc narrowing and reduced movement – which has the effect of providing more protection to the spinal cord than a thicker, unstable disc.

    These things are the body’s way of adjusting (positively) to the negative effects of stress.

    The two different interpretations of the same x-ray provide choices about the way we look at ourselves and our health. The mechanistic view tends sees limited options for change as the “arthritis” is something that is immovably set in place. with relief coming from the outside in the form of medication. The wholistic model suggests our bodies (and our whole selves) have the ability to take control, learn, adapt and create change from within.

    The wholistic view includes the mechanistic view but adds the knowledge that “arthritis” reflects more than what appears in the image on an x-ray.

    A wholistic approach encourages a view of health from a wider perspective – one that embraces change – changing the way we look at things and in turn changing the way we choose to live.

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  • Embodiment

    When we desensitize ourselves to our body, we tend to associate knowledge and wisdom only with our thinking mind. We try to think our way through life, giving ourselves a break from our minds every now and then by drugging ourselves, getting erotic, or otherwise using the body as a tool for distraction. Our bodies get so easily saturated with our mental activity—if someone asks us how we’re feeling, many of us tend to look up or away, scanning through our mind for the answer. As if the mind knows!

    Getting back to the body not only speeds our healing, anchoring and centring us, it also helps decentralise egoity so that we become more than embodied ego and its imperialistic holdings. Getting back to the body isn’t about having ego-governed relationships with our different “parts”—part of me wants this, part of me wants that, and another part of me doesn’t want either, and so on, revealing not healthy ambiguity but only self-fragmentation. Getting back to the body is about having a being-centred relationship with all that constitutes us.

    Our body is our medium for being in relationship with our environment (a physical body for a physical environment, a dream body for a dream environment, and so on). But embodiment is relationship. As we mature, we shift from sensing our body as a solid something to sensing it as something far from static, something through which we are revealed and expressed, no matter in what state we may be.

    When lost in thought, we have no body.

    When attention is brought to thought, we have a body.

    When attention is brought to sensation, we shift from having a body to being in a body.

    When attention is brought to perception, we shift from being in a body to being present as a body.

    When attention is brought to our overall presence, our innate wholeness of being, we shift from being present as a body to simply being, neither separate from nor identified with our body.

    By Robert Augustus Masters

    http://robertmasters.com/

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