A Paradox Of Our Time

An observation:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

-Attributed to George Carlin 

Life Is About Choices

As I enter the winter of my life, I wonder of tales told of how your life flashes before you in those final moments. Presume for a moment seeing your life history is real, and that you will see your life unfold from youth to the end point. I've often wondered how mine would visualized.

Most people believe that their lives were born of circumstances, influenced by fate and created and controlled by family or the workplace. They even believe that they are not important, only a victim of the times.

I've been taught that life is not something that merely happens to you, it is something that you do! Life is not given to us to be endured, but to be lived! Often times I wish I adhered more to that philosophy.

We are unique among all the creatures on earth by being able to direct and control our lives and decide our own fate. Our thoughts and actions are not predetermined by blind instinct. They are of free will and free choices. We can choose to be different or we can choose to remain the same. We can grow and develop into anything we wish, or we can choose to remain stagnate. We can, at any time, choose new paths or we can tread the familiar, safe and uninspiring ground of tradition.

Life is always a series of choices. We can choose to let life drift along with no direction, plan or goals. Sometimes we wander and allow chance to take hold, only to find out that was a bad decision, usually based upon emotion. Or, you can choose where you wish to go, program your life with a plan and objective in mind directed at your ultimate target. The power to choose can be either fulfilling achievements or chasing rainbows.

You, at any time, can choose to change or rearrange their life. Should you follow that decision with positive action and effort, you can accomplish that change. It begins with thought ...

"There are no mistakes in life. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible."

 

Watching The Clock

There is virtue in watching the clock to see when to start work, but not much in watching it to see when to quit.

Time is the most important thing you possess because it is life itself. Time well used is a life well spent. Merely wasting time is living to no avail.

Should you be one who says, "I always allow myself plenty of time and even then I am often late?" Watch the clock and start on time. When you allow yourself added time, you waste it loitering, or by doing useless things until time slips away from you . As a result you find yourself rushing in the end, and sometimes you don't make it because of the habits of being slow. In the business world, being on time means arriving 15 minutes early.

Watch the clock. Time yourself. Know how long it takes to do a given task, a routine thing. Then make time count, be on schedule, or rearrange the schedule to fit you requirements but be ready on the hour or on the minute as the case may be. When you learn to do this, you remain relaxed because you are sure of yourself, thus you always seem to have plenty of time.

Relaxation is important for accomplishment and also for health. No one can do good work when they are tense and hurried, nor can the organs of your body function properly when you are all tied up inside with stress and anxiety. Learn to relax. Take it easy. Watch the clock and keep things moving in quiet routine, properly coordinated within and without. You will feel better if you do.

Have you even noticed how quietly your heart beats, some 72 times a minute? Also, the rhythm of breathing at about 16 times a minute, and how constant the temperature of you body remains at 98.6 degrees. Of course, each of these functions changes tempo as emergencies arise, but the rhythm and coordination remain steadfast because of an Innate Intelligence directs and controls function in unison through the medium of the nervous system.

Watch the clock, and when you find your pace is slowing down, see your chiropractor and enjoy a better life.

"Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream."

Start From Here

When I was a young boy, I often visited my great grandfather in Beaverton, Michigan. I was always curious and asking questions of many things. On one of those occasions, I wondered about the city's name. While sitting on the front porch of his farm, I asked, "What is this place called Beaverton known for?"

He smiled down on me and replied, "Well, young Jimmy, this is the starting point for any place in the world you desire to go."

How true this is in life. Whatever you want to be, wherever you want to go, start from here and start now. It is up to you to choose your destination and the mode of travel. You may wish to advance your education and go off to college or join the military to serve your country. It doesn't matter which path you choose, simply start from here.

You are created with many hidden talents. Those talents may remain in neutral, or you have the choice to awaken them. Start from here, from where you are and make yourself what you want to be. The degree of your success is determined by how much of yourself you put into your undertaking ... and especially how soon you start.

Some talents evolve slowly, but all talents must be encouraged, awakened, developed, practiced and trained. As you sow, so shall you reap; nothing more. The time to begin is here and now, wherever you may be. Take the first step with your objective in life clearly in mind. Keep on keeping on, and your goal will be reached.

There can always be obstacles in your way. Some of you may be  physically or emotionally "handicapped". Some may have chosen a lesser educational level in life, meaning you made that decision by choice or by life's dictate. So what! Many persons, both male and female, have faced life's hurdles, yet they have succeeded. They even utilized their stumbling block as a steppingstone.

Jimmy Durante had a big nose, Abraham Lincoln was not an attractive man and had no formal education. So what! They started from where they were and went to the top. And remember, as you strive for your goals, your physical and emotional well-being is performing at it's finest.

Try being a role model for yourself ... then you become a role model for others.

Ideas and Ideals

Ideas are the basis of all progress. Ideals form standards worthy of emulation. Ideas come like a flash, and make a splash in the pool of your mind. But, when an idea is not followed through, it may sink into oblivion, perhaps never to return. When ideas are employed, however, they may create wonders. Ideas are sometimes persistent and keep burning within your soul until you are forced to action that makes your dream come true.

Someone once said, "Ideals are like stars; we never reach them, but like mariners at sea, we chart our course by them."

What is your ideal in life? Is it to be helpful, to be of service to do good, to lend a helping hand, or is money, wealth or fame your ideal? Whatever your goal may be, you chart your life by it. Thus, you will either lay up treasures in heaven or you will selfishly be king of your own little world and never rise above it.

Perhaps you will say your world of usefulness is limited by the state of your health. Worry and fear of disease limit your vision and ability to think clearly which precludes helpful ideas and blurs the vision of ideals. What can you do about it?

You must begin to realize that health, as with like ideas and subsequent ideals, come from within. Of course, there is a difference in expression, but the source is much the same. Ideals are governed largely by your emotions. Health comes principally through the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord. This being true, the spine becomes the distributing center of the nervous system, and subsequently involving the hormonal system.

"Killing time may be murdering opportunity."

From Acorn To Oak

Do you count things in a big way? Consider that all little things count also. Thus, never discredit small things, nor even yourself, should you feel insignificant in this great world of ours. Someone once said, "An oak tree is only a little nut that held its ground long enough to grow up." How ironic.

Have you ever stopped to think that everything, regardless of size, first starts from a small beginning? The whale was once a small mammal in a great ocean; the giant Sequoia grew from a seed, almost as tiny as a mustard seed; the largest skyscraper began with a single brick; Hoover Dam started with a bag of cement and yard of sand .... and so it goes.

Every giant enterprise or important invention started with a simple idea. The iron teakettle, singing on the stove, provided the original idea for the steam engine; a spider wed woven across the garden path may have suggested the suspension bridge; even an apple, falling from a tree, gave Newton the idea which is known today as the law of gravity.

In medicine, a bullet wound in the abdomen of a patient, aids a doctor in studying the principle of digestion; a bump on a man's spine, and his subsequent deafness, were the forerunner of the science and art of health known today as Chiropractic.

All these beginnings were little things, yet what wonders they held in store when the right moment arrived for the world to see the light and know the way.

What the chiropractor does with his hands on the spine of the sick or injured person, seems like a little thing to do. But, the patient gets well which, after all, is the big thing that matters most.

 "You will not achieve big things ... if you are distracted by small things."

Victims Of Routine

Many people are victims of circumstances, victims of wind and weather, victims of flood and famine, of war and many other hazards. But, one of the worst is becoming the victim of routine?

What is routine? SAME STUFF, DIFFERENT DAY, pretty much defines the "beast". It's somewhat a habit, doing things in a constant way, adopting some regular mode of action in business or pleasure. "Pursuing a given course with little flexibility," states the dictionary.

What is wrong about that? Nothing really, unless the habit becomes static, unproductive, or stale.  I personally lived that scenario in business, and sadly also in my personal life for over 15 years. Going to my office, doing the same fixed tasks, and over time feeling sorry for myself because I was becoming a miserable failure after enjoying a once successful career. Then, change became apparent with my funds depleted and my practice seeing fewer and fewer patients. My routine was attempting to run a medical practice solo. I could not imagine doing anything else. My common sense was departing slowly and my health problems became a serious issue with trips to the emergency room.

It was then my life changed dramatically. I was evicted from my office of 27 years. With no money and no place to practice, Downtrodden, I felt sorry for myself and excused it me being the victim of misfortune. When in fact, I was totally responsible for all that occurred. I was a "victim of routine".

Discover good habits and you will find they aid in accomplishment, they guide you in a regular course, making things come easy or quickly, all to the good. More power to such a positive routine. That is exactly what I unearthed - good habits and a positive mental attitude. Both needed to succeed.

There is always chance of becoming a victim of negative routine, constantly doing things the hard way, being unwilling to change, holding fast to an antiquated pattern, giving too much attention to time consuming, unprofitable details. Such routine needs to be modified and brought up-to-date.

In a broader sense there is also routine in politics, in religion, and health methods. Voting for the same political party, regardless of policies, holding fast to one political group or to fixed methods. Religion likewise becomes more or less static with many people. Prayers are sometimes routine, asking the blessing is a good example. People in general follow fixed patterns; even the Lord's Prayer is more or less a matter of note without giving thought to it's true meaning. Have you thought of that?

And what about your health methods? What is your pattern when ill? Do you rely on aspirin, pain killers, anti-depressants shots, MLM products, vitamins, without thought about side effects and the consequences to your overall general health? Are you a victim of treatment routine?

"Think, for the mind tells the body what to do."

Time and Life

Time is as vital as life itself, yet time is different in relation to the laws of the universe.

Time is an element of eternity. It may be recorded in split seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, or even eons.

Life is a minor element of time shared alike by everyone. The only difference is the length of its span and purpose.

Time may be used either constructively or consumed to no advantage. Some people waste time; others mark time, unable to make decisions; some procrastinate with little purpose in life, not realizing that time once recorded is gone forever.

Time, like talents, must be invested wisely to bring about the best returns. Time wasted is like talents buried. No one profits, least of all the one who squanders his or her time to no purpose.

Time is of greatest value when organized and made to serve a dual purpose or multiple needs. The organization of time requires skill, thought, planning, and the elimination of lost motion so that a maximum of benefit may be obtained with a minimum of effort.

To appreciate time in its fullest measure requires normal health and cooperation with the laws of nature which govern all things in the universe.

Your body is said to be God's masterpiece. In a measure all the laws of nature are expressed therein through the various functions of the body. These functions are regulated and controlled through the medium of the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord.

Anatomically, the spine is the strength and support of the body. It holds you erect; it supports the head that houses the brain. The spine also encases the spinal cord and provides openings between the vertebrae through witch all nerve bundles emit before separating into countless fibers that provide a medium of communication between brain cell and tissue cell, akin to an electric circuit between power plant or modern home.

To provide electric service, the circuit must be unbroken; in your body nerve channels must be clear so sensation can reach the brain freely enabling responding mental impulses to direct and regulate function in the glands, organs, and muscles of the body.

On occasions, due to spinal shocks and/or strains, nerves are "pinched". This in turn disturbs function, lowers resistance and in time can result in dis-ease regardless of the diagnosis or the treatment employed.

"People who live in glass houses might as well answer the doorbell."

Today - Begin Where You Are

Do you wish to succeed in life? Try beginning where you now are. Utilize the tools you have at hand. Expect the best and then follow through and DO your best. That is all it takes.

Of course you must have a goal, whether it be immediate, intermediate or long term. You must know what you want. You must have an ideal, you must have vision. The Bible says, "Where there is no vision the people perish." Those with no vision wander about in a desert of non-belief, fear, and doubt until despair enters their mind. This is true of the individual or the mass. There seems no way out, and you can't win unless you believe you can be changed.

What is your problem? could it be ill health? Do you suffer pain? Are you nervous? Are you groggy from taking too much medicine, too many drugs, tranquilizers, aspirin, and/or perhaps even alcohol? Begin now to get rid of these false idols. There is a better way, a right way, and most importantly - the proper way. You will never find answers in a bottle or drug. You may ask what you can do. What other way is open to you?

Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made, as has often been said. This being true, what have you to fear? Why doubt the laws of nature? Begin now, where you are, to set nature's laws to work for you and you will find the way to approach a more abundant life. What does this mean, you may ask?

Chiropractors have a different approach to health problems. No drugs, no surgery, nothing to swallow, and no shots. It's not that we do not "believe" that modern medicine is injurious, but it would be a last resort unless a true emergency should present. Have you wondered how this works?

I point out that health comes from "up down inside and outward" and in no other way. Health depends entirely upon the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord with its network of nerve fibers forming a direct medium of contact between brain cells and tissue cells.

You may have heard it said that the spine is the strength and support of the body. This is true, but the use of the spine has many ramifications. The spinal column supports the head housing the brain. It also serves for the articulation of all the larger bones and the attachments of major muscles and ligaments. Through this medium you are enabled to have strength, activity, and function; however, more is needed. this is supplied through the brain, spinal cord, and its nerve fibers already mentioned.

The spinal cord is a great cable of nerves that descends from the base of the skull down through the greater length of the spinal column. the spinal column is provided with openings between the vertebrae where nerve bundles emit separating into countless nerve fibers that form a direct contact between the brain cells and all structures of the body. Through this medium all activity and function take place enabling the body to perform a more perfect state of health.

Sometimes however, there is dis-ease (want of ease) with its various symptoms and you may become ill. You have pains, indigestion, nervousness, and various other disorders. As a result you take something for it, or you go to a doctor for a prescription to be filled at a pharmacy. These sometimes work, but more often cause side effects worse than the original complaint. "A drug is not a drug unless it causes side effects." Eli Lilly.

What has caused these problems? We point out that in everyday life you are subject to falls, accidents, and mishaps that sometimes displace one or more vertebrae to a degree so nerves are pinched. This in conjunction with malfunction and the emotions results in various health problems.

X-rays of the spine and other tests can determine the spinal cause of the problem. Then gentle spinal adjustments are given, and in due time health can be restored again. Are you in doubt?

Begin now, where you are. Go to your chiropractor and perhaps you too can discard your medicines. The way will be opened to a more abundant life.

From Acorn To Oak

Do you count material blessings and belongings in a big way? Little things count also, so try to never discredit  those small things - especially yourself because you might feel so minor in this great world of ours. Someone once said, "An oak tree is only a little nut that held its ground long enough to grow up." How true!

Have you ever stopped to ponder that everything, regardless of size, starts from a small beginning? The whale was once a little mammal in a great ocean, the giant Sequoia tree grew from a seed, almost as tiny as a mustard seed. The largest skyscrapers began with a single brick. Hoover Dam started with a bag of cement and a yard of sand. And so it goes....

Every giant enterprise or important invention started with a simple idea. Most found their beginnings in a home or even a garage setting. The iron teakettle singing on the stove produced the original idea for the steam engine. A spider web across the garden path may have suggested the suspension bridge. An apple falling from a tree gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea which is known today as "the law gravity". A bullet wound in the abdomen of a patient aided a doctor in studying principle of digestion.

All these were little things, yet what tremendous wonders they held in store when the right moment arrived for the world to see the light and find the way.

The revolution in the world of healing has been magnificent. More and more, instead of treating effects of pain and discomfort with drugs and surgery, we are recognizing in mass that healing is done by clearing the cause of most disease. And that is done effectively by opening the nerve channels, thus allowing nature's healing forces within the body to function normally.

The nervous system is the directing and controlling medium of the body. Through the nervous system sensation is flashed to the brain informing the Innate Mind of the needs of the body, or the dangers to it. These impressions are interpreted and responding impulses are flashed back over the nervous system to the glands, organs and muscles of the body awakening them to normal activity.

Little things like discomfort, sleepless nights or even an emotional day may be signs of something bigger. See your doctor and grow healthy and strong.

We only have this life once .... and never again.  Make it happen.

The Stress of Life

"The Stress of Life" is a perennial bestseller by Hans Selye, written in 1956. Selye almost single-handedly introduced the notion of stress into the worldwide consciousness. By doing so, Selye changed the way we think about ourselves, our values, and how we conduct our lives.

As Selye observed, stress is a double-edged sword. Many types of stress are good for people, both physiologically and personally. For example, Wolff's law states that bone will remodel (build more bone) along lines of mechanical stress. In other words, bone becomes stronger when it is subjected to physical loads. The physiological stress of weight-bearing exercise such as walking, running, and strength training helps prevent osteoporosis by making bone denser and more resilient. From a psychological perspective, the great German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, famously stated in "Twilight of the Idols" (1888), "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." Apparently, Nietzsche (writing in the 19th century) was far ahead of Selye in pointing to the benefits (and dangers) of stress.

Life is filled with "good" stresses. A new love relationship, a new job, or a new baby may all provide great personal happiness and the experience of fulfillment and satisfaction. But each circumstance may also place new demands on us, calling on us to be and do much more than that of which we had previously thought ourselves capable. A person may develop all sorts of adaptive responses in attempts to cope with life's new requirements, but most of these adaptations are themselves stress-producing. Over time the adaptations become habits, stress becomes a day-by-day experience, and a host of physiological and psychological disorders and syndromes may appear.1,2 High blood pressure, diabetes, overweight/obesity, arthritis, insomnia, and depression may all be considered as long-term maladaptive responses to stress.3

Muscular aches and pains, muscle spasms, and headaches are common physiological responses to ongoing stress. A vicious circle develops in which stress leads to muscle tightness, which constricts blood vessels, which leads to headaches, which leads to more muscle tightness, more pain, and even more stress. One's day seems to become filled with stress and stress reactions. The good news is that means of ending these vicious circles of stress are available. Present time consciousness, regular exercise and a healthy diet, sufficient rest, and regular chiropractic care comprise a powerful tool kit for restoring balance in one's life.

1Wu EL, et al: Increased risk of hypertension in patients with major depressive disorder: a population-based study. J Psychosom Res 73(3):169-174, 2012

2Hristova MG: Metabolic syndrome - From the neurotrophic hypothesis to a theory. Med Hypotheses 2013 July 27 [Epub ahead of print]

3Martocchia A, et al: Targets of anti-glucocorticoid therapy for stress-related diseases. Recent Pat CNS Drug Discov 8(1):79-87, 2013

What's the Problem with Stress?

We live in stressful times. The economy is tough, global conflicts rage, severe weather events are affecting people in every corner of the globe, and our numerous technological devices don't seem to be making things any easier. Of course, this is nothing new. Every generation thinks theirs is the best of times and the worst of times. But the result is that people everywhere have high levels of stress.

Sometimes stress is a good thing. Mechanical stress, such as exercise, causes your muscles and bones to become stronger and your nerve system to become smarter. Taking on a new assignment at work or taking a challenging class in school may be stressful, but the effort involved in achieving a successful result will cause you to grow and develop in ways that you might not have imagined. After all, the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously said "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

But chronic, ongoing physical and mental stress, the kind that affects us every day, is not good for us. Chronic stress causes real psychological and physical problems. People undergoing chronic stress may develop anxiety, which if not managed effectively may lead to depression. Chronic stress may lead to a variety of disorders and diseases, including arthritis, inflammatory conditions such as Crohn's disease, gastrointestinal problems such as peptic ulcer, diabetes,¹ high blood pressure,² and even heart attacks and stroke.³ As we are all subject to numerous stresses every day, both personal and work-related, it's very important for us to develop strategies that will be successful in helping us manage ongoing stresses.

The most important method for managing stress is to attempt to focus your point-of-view, your frame of reference, on the present moment. Our minds are constantly in motion, constantly at work creating new thoughts and new scenarios regarding some potentially stressful situation, or rehashing old conversations, old conflicts, and old problems. The result is that we're almost never at peace. When we try to sit down and relax for a bit, it's never too long before our minds start bringing up the exact things we'd like to be able to forget or ignore, at least for a little while. Most of us can't flip a metaphorical switch and shut off our incessant stream of mostly negative self-talk. But we can learn to remind ourselves to return to the present, to come back to this moment, the one that's happening now.

The best way to do this is to ask yourself, "is this [what I'm thinking about] happening right now?" If you can see that what's happening now is that you're sitting in a chair reading the newspaper, you have a good chance of being able to let go of what your mind is talking to you about. Say to yourself, "I'm right here, right now, and none of that other stuff is actually happening right now." This will help you create some distance from your self-talk, and the self-talk may even recede into the background for a while. The feeling of calm you might then experience is one you can build on. The more you practice returning to the moment, the more power you gain in being able to manage the stress in your life.

¹Bener A, et al: Association between psychological distress and gastrointestinal symptoms in diabetes mellitus. World J Diabetes 3(6):123-129, 2012

²van Dijk, AE, et al: The association between prenatal psychosocial stress and blood pressure in the child at age 5-7 years. PLoS One 7(8):e43548, 2012

³Pereira VH, et al: Stressed brain, diseased heart: A review on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of neurocardiology. Int J Cardiol 2012 Apr 20 [Epub ahead of print]