January 2008

The collective awareness of humanity

by Dr. Kevin Pallis and Dr. Ed Plentz

We have been conditioned to speak the language of limitation and disease. Listless echoes of, "That's just the way it is" "I live paycheck to paycheck" "Can't fight city hall," reverberate in homes across America. Watch any TV newscast. They enforce such beliefs on the unsuspecting, the unwitting and the unknowing. Just how many ill and disillusioned individuals will it take to break free from the societal addiction to and fascination with disease, limitations, and a lackluster idea of health?

The world is desperately searching for leaders in health, something they know precious little about. While many DCs attempt to imitate MDs, starting to speak the language of limitation and disease, the collective awareness of humanity will not settle for more disease and syndromes. We need leaders of a bold, new frontier ‑‑ health.

What's acceptable for health in our society has nothing to do with health. Health insurance? Try disease insurance. Life insurance is actually death insurance. Disability insurance is betting on yourself to fail, not succeed.

The covers of national magazines call out for health leaders. Autism, depression, allergies, anxiety... the list goes on and on. The effects of a society that's lost its mooring for awareness are ever so apparent. The reality is that society will prosper or perish on the terms it chooses for itself. Its fate lies in its responsibility and outlook toward the next generation.

Standing up to the majority or dominant beliefs of an established society is never easy. Honor and integrity are words that mustn't be wasted on people marketing for self‑gain reasons masquerading as the highest good of

society. Putting heart and soul into our passions, speaking truth in the face of the liar and the lie, standing alone if necessary, are what's called for today.

As chiropractors we must keep our identity alive by removing nerve interference in all individuals, regardless of age or symptoms. All the symptomatic relief in the world cannot change the world's health paradigm. The way to change the collective awareness of humanity is to educate our practice members. However, there's no education required to merely remove their symptoms.

We're beleaguered by the old "find it, fix it and leave it alone" syndrome. Like lawyers, we're there when people need us. Thus, if the insurance or price is right, we offer the illusion of temporary solutions. What about people empowering themselves to be healthy? What about "our" future generations?

What would happen if doctors of chiropractic stood for better health for a better world? What if children were welcomed into society equipped with a compass and a plan to remain healthy for a lifetime? What if chiropractors had a complete system of educating practice members that guided, never forced, compliance? What if we as DCs stopped trying to be all things to all people? What would our communities look like if people were tuned into health instead of disease?

Instead of being against something (drugs, vaccines, etc.) why not be for chiropractic? Why not demonstrate in our offices our unique factor, our true dedication to life? Is the answer in hydrotherapy, spa settings, one adjustment wonders, and physical therapy or in the chiropractic adjustment we hold sacred? When you stand for nothing, you will be good for nothing ‑‑ and you'll fall for anything.

What if children's health was mainstream in our chiropractic colleges? What if children were the norm instead of the exception? Time and again in our coaching program, we see the difficulties associated with student internships that were devoid of adjusting children.

Just think of the logical difference between educating an adult at age 40 and a child. How about going to a dentist at age 40 instead of as a child? How about instilling values in a 40‑year old instead of a child? I'm sure you understand how below‑the‑line thinking it is to take care of adult musculoskeletal pain practice members only.

The concept of raising the collective awareness of our society is not a joke. Quantum physicists say that just one percent of the population can change the paradigm of the other 99 percent. Some people say it's the square root of one percent. The majority of people are very set in their ways when it comes to what they feel health is. These are the same people who agreed with slavery, segregation, the genocide of our Native Americans, etc. The majority will always be made aware of the truth by the minority. It's time for the collective awareness of the minority to be heard.

(The New Renaissance is a movement of passionate chiropractors dedicated to changing the world. The leader in patient education since 1977, the Mentor IV Coaching Program is a step‑by‑step navigational guide that embodies the very essence of The New Renaissance vision of healthier people creating a healthier world. Without patient education, your patients won't "get it." To learn more about The New Renaissance, contact world headquarters at 800‑525‑3879.)