August 2005

Becoming the healer you dream of

by Dr. Will Tickel

In our history as chiropractors, we've been able to demonstrate that "where your energy flows, that's what grows, and manifests in physical form."

It's the thought that continues to reign supreme. The healing concept itself turns hope into expectancy, possibilities into probabilities. And while we can expect probabilities, we hope for possibilities, with the understanding that the mind doesn't know the difference between reality and what we think about. The late Dr. Jim Parker, perhaps the greatest mind in chiropractic's last half century, was fond of saying, "Don't let the size of your shoes determine the growth of your feet." We chiropractors are in the intelligence business. Or the energy business. Call it what you will. It ain't physical.

Say "I'm a healer" ‑‑ and mean it. Then, work harder on yourself than you do on your patients. Don't ask for anything you're not entitled to. Or anything you won't be accountable for. Keep personal inventory. Over time, what you desire in your heart will manifest. It's one of our basic tenets, remember? Become single‑minded, much like the boxer who never drops his guard, bobbing and weaving, dodging those distractions, all the while keeping his eye on the target. Be organized around your dream. The more organization, the more clarity. The more clarity, the more power. Write down your dream. The written word, after all, takes on a far greater reality than a thought merely whirling among thousands of others in your daily walk. Read what you write, recognizing that repetition is the mother of all learning. Be positive ... eliminate. Shed ego, as ego leaves no room for truth...or error. Error, incidentally, is greatly undervalued in American society. [1]

What goes into you must come out, so watch what you watch! Are you talking too much? Or listening too little? Listening and responding to the wrong things, perhaps? Set time aside for serious thought, but allow time for fun. All the while, remember BJ Palmer's warning: "Don't take yourself too damn seriously." [1] After all, it's the patient who makes the adjustment, observed lawyer‑turned‑chiropractic pioneer, Dr. Willard Carver. [2]

Success occurs when preparation meets opportunity. Strike when the iron's hot. Don't allow ego to cool it through the procrastination of judgment and analysis. Have a compassion to serve greater than a compulsion to survive. Be emotionally involved! Do little things well. Just because. Be your own hero. You won't be tired on the day of victory. Instead, you'll energized, empowered, and alive!

Love yourself first (pay yourself first!). Maintain a stable home life. Move in the direction of becoming financially free. Then, love your neighbor ‑‑ your patient ‑‑ as yourself. You love patients when you become one with them, as Clarence Gonstead practiced (say "I love you as mother, father, brother, sister, child").

Keep it basic and straightforward. Teach others that what the body can do for itself, chiropractic can do for the body. Rejoice in the fact that chiropractic is ecologically sound and that all patients have the same problem ‑‑ lack of tone. Tone 'em up! All patients need the same thing ‑‑ connection. Be their D.C. (their direct connection). Connect folks to a consciousness, an awareness, of their own inborn wisdom. Teach them that it does more for them than anything else. And  "that something" is always going right. "In recognition comes half the cure," someone once said. That's why Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man (or the Scare Crow, or the Lion!). [5]

Love longs for home. Does your office feel like home? About love, you must have the thought before the act to get the feeling. Inside each and every one of us is a child wishing to be liked. And just dying to come out! Do you handle each patient as if he or she were your last? Handle with care! "Thank you" works. Are you thankful  ‑‑ and do you say so ‑‑ at least three times a day?

Love yourself by living a positive, constructive life. Enjoy life! Eat well, exercise well, dress well and act well. Do you see yourself as well enough off already? Or do you truly need to make a change? Do you look successful? Act successful? Feel successful? Act one step bigger than you feel, recalling the words of the great American educator and philosopher, William James: "We do not sing because we are happy; we are happy because we sing." [5]

These qualities of the healer make you attractive, DC. And since 8 out of 10 people go to 2 out of 10 DCs, in the words of the Cheshire cat, ask yourself one more question: "Who are you?" [6]

References

1. Yaconelli, Michael: "Messy Spirituality." Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 2002.

2. Palmer, BJ: "As A Man Thinketh," Davenport, IA.

3. Carver, Willard: unknown

4. Baum, L. Frank: "The Wizard of Oz." Barron's, Hauppauge, NY 1997.

5. James, William: "The Energies of Man." Moffitt Yard and Co., NY 1908.

6. Carroll, Leo G: "Alice in Wonderland." Whitman Publishing, Racine, WI 1934

(Will Tickel, DC ‑‑ willtickel@yahoo.com ‑‑ is an internationally known speaker on "things natural." He and his wife, Dr. Pam Tickel, are both graduates of a chiropractic college that no longer calls itself such. A son, Bill, and his wife, Tammy, are both DCs. Two other sons, James and Geoff, are now rapidly pursuing their right to licensure at Life College of Chiropractic. Dr. Tickel is finishing up a book on healing, entitled, "Stirrin' it Up! A baby boomer's look at life, liberty, and the pursuit of imperfect bliss.")