April 2006

People don't destroy the planet ‑‑ their thought process does!

This month's column is by Greg Loman, DC

They say that guns kill! Some will fight that concept and say that guns do not have the ability to kill, it's the people who do the killing. I truly believe that neither kill. It's the thought process behind the person that kills and destroys.

Twenty‑five or so years ago, the state of Florida water management department started addressing water issues in southwest Florida. From mid‑state south all water runs through the everglades into the Gulf of Mexico. God's plan and nature were working for thousands of years. The state saw there was a water drainage problem and water quantity problem in south Florida so they decided to divert water through developing canals in the everglades. Today, Florida Bay is becoming extremely salty because not enough fresh water is draining into the Gulf of Mexico, killing all the sea life in the Florida Bay.

God knew better and had a superior plan when nature naturally drained a certain amount of fresh water in the Gulf. Then humans came along and are now developing a larger problem by developing canals to control the water. This ultimately caused unnecessary death because of the wrong thought process.

Human beings are creating the same effects with treating problems in the human body. If you develop a problem, condition, or symptom, the thought process of traditional medicine immediately begins to destroy you. Medicine immediately addresses the symptom.

An article in Newsweek magazine (May 19, 2003) pointed out that research showed 10 million American children suffer chronic or recurrent pain, and medicine is researching the pain. Just as Florida water management researched developing the canals, these children are continuing to develop larger and deadlier problems. We must stop evaluating the symptom.

Dr. Guttman, a European orthopedic specialist found that 80% of the children he evaluated in the first two weeks after birth had nerve interference at the brain stem because of the birth process. Pressure on your children's nerve system and brainstem causes malfunction and disease. This is similar to the effect of altering the water flow in the Everglades ‑‑ it caused an increase in the salt content because of the lack of fresh water flow into the Gulf ultimately causing disease and death to the fish. Chiropractors remove this interference to allow a child's body to address the cause and heal naturally.

The same level of thinking can either destroy a practice or catapult it to levels you've never thought possible.

At times I believe the biggest reason for the struggling practice is not necessarily a bad chiropractor or town. One of the biggest reasons is the process of thinking that's creating action based on an outside‑in process. Many chiropractors figure that they'll practice relief care to get the practice started. Then, at some future date, they'll practice the way they've always wanted.

This level of thinking pushes us into a corner until one day we're so caught we don't know how to get out. Can you see how this philosophy has the same effect whether you are dealing with the planet or the chiropractor?

Before you know it, one day you wake up and wonder why all the fish are dying in the Gulf of Mexico.

Are you at a point in practice wondering how you got yourself backed into your current situation? It happened many years ago with the thought that you'd only do relief care for a while. The good news is it can be changed now. Take the time today to make the decision and get some help. Go find people who are doing it and ask them to help you.

Remember, we're all on the same team trying to make this planet a better place. If I can be of any help please call or e‑mail.

(Dr. Greg Loman and Dr. Ben Lerner are co‑authors of chiropractic's first New York Times best‑selling book, "One Minute Wellness: The Health and Happiness System That Never Fails." They are founding partners of Teach the World about Chiropractic.)