We all have beliefs about how the world works, but often what we believe comes from what we have been fed by our parents, schooling system, the media or other external sources. This is not to say they are wrong, but if we haven't come to these conclusions ourselves, and what we think is in contradiction our individual truth, we will dissipate our power which leads to a greater or lesser degree of disharmony, imbalance or tension in our lives. Conversely, the more congruence we have between what we believe, think, feel and do, the more we will be in alignment, this will exponentially expand our peace, harmony, health and influence.
Following on from this, I believe that it may be wise to identify our health philosophy, one we that we have consciously thought about and one which orchestrates the highest degree of empowerment.
Philosophy in general is broken down into various branches that progress from one logical step to the next:
Metaphysics - What do I believe?
Is the body self-healing and self-regulating?
Are symptoms a problem, or the effect of a problem?
Can medication or surgery actually make us healthier, or just make us feel better?
How much faith do you in your body to heal or do we always need an outside intervention?
Do you believe you can be healthy or deserve to be healthy?
Is the body just a machine that needs parts replacing or fixing, or is it holistic organism where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?
Does the body have an organising intelligence?
Is the nervous system the master control system?
If there is a disturbance, blockage or damage to the nervous system, does that lead to the conclusion that your body will not be able to express health to its maximum potential?
Epistemology - Why do I believe it?
What evidence is there for supporting your beliefs?
What will you accept as evidence?
Is the absence of proof the proof of absence?
Who has influenced your thinking?
Ethics - What am I going to do?
How much do you value your health out of 10? If it's not a 9 or a 10, why not?
Are we going to take responsibility for our health?
If the body is self-healing and self-regulating, what do we need to do to either support it, or get out of its way?
These sorts of questions underpin everything that I do in practice. And I want to stress that these are my beliefs, you may agree, partly agree, or disagree, and I respect all people for whatever conclusions they may come to for themselves.
I believe that the body has a powerful capacity for self-healing and self-regulating, with an organising intelligence that expresses itself over and through the nerves of the body. Interference within the nervous system creates a disharmony that leads to the breakdown of the body to some degree, and because lifestyle stresses are daily and continuous, in order to live with as much vitality as we can, we need to continually look after our spines and nerves.
I believe that there is an 'illness - wellness continuum'. Through our daily habits we are either moving towards one end of the spectrum or the other. We are never static and so we have the power and potential to make choices to keep us moving towards the healthiest version of ourselves.
I believe that symptoms are not the problem but a manifestation of the whole "bodymind" being out of sync, and where we feel pain is often the area in which our bodies can no longer compensate.
I believe that traditional medicine could be more accurately described as 'sick-care' rather than 'health-care'. Medicine and surgery is a truly miraculous field, but if I asked a room of people now, "what are 5 things you can do to get healthier?", how many people do you think would put their hand up and say "take more medications"? If you perpetually add sick care to a healthy society, you get a sick society because traditional medicine, whilst perfectly suited for trauma, infections or emergencies, is being used for more lifestyle related conditions.
I believe that we all have far more power than we give ourselves credit for, both in our external lives and internal lives. It is our personal responsibility to ask for help if we need it, but not look outside ourselves for salvation.
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