Next New Beginnings - Sept 28 - Oct 1, 2006

Have a Great summer..

By Jim Dubel, DC

Here is a pretty neat little thing from Paul Harvey. He brings things into perspective for LIFE.. I think it is time for all of us to rethink our lives as Chiropractors and what it means to be one!.. Can you remember your "first adjustment" ??

(See if you can guess the riddle at the end)

Paul Harvey Writes:

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.

And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hannukah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.

Send this to all of your friends. We secure our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them.

Paul Harvey

RIDDLE:

When asked this riddle, 80% of kindergarten kids got the answer, compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors.

What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?

NOTHING !

B.J.’s Utopia And Contradiction

By Kevin Donka, D.C.

On pages 336 and 337 in R. W. Stephenson’s Chiropractic Textbook is an article entitled “B.J.’s Utopia.” B.J. Palmer believed chiropractic could theoretically bring about a “utopia” if it were “given the chance to do its miracles and reasonable time allowed for the results to be brought about.” This would be “a world without sickness, insanity, blindness, feeble-minded people, deaf and dumb, backward children, social evils, criminality, drunkenness and its attendant evils, abnormal reproduction, etc.” There are many reasons why we are not very likely to ever see such a society, but I would like to concentrate on discussing two reasons why most chiropractors are to blame for actually preventing the progressive realization of this utopia.

The first reason is simply that most people mistakenly believe that by eliminating what we don’t want we will automatically have what we do want. The example I use most frequently to illustrate this misconception is that you are not automatically wealthy just because you pay off your debts. You simply aren’t in debt anymore. In addition to this, by focusing so completely on what we don’t want to see (read B.J.’s description again, you will see it only describes what would not be present), we actually cause what we don’t want to keep showing up. The simple truth is that you cannot escape something you are giving your attention to! We must focus on a clear vision of exactly what the community would be, not what it would not be.

The second reason most chiropractors will not ever see this utopian society in their own communities is that their offices actually depend upon sick people in order to continue to be profitable! “Not me!” you say? “No! We have procedures set up so that everyone in our practice can continue with wellness/wholeness-based care.” The key here is that most doctors first attract to their offices people who are either in pain or sick in some way with the goal of “converting” them to a wellness or what I call a “possibility” mentality. I think this is a noble goal. In fact, it is the goal I personally have with every practice member who comes in initially with a complaint of some kind.

The problem is, most doctors actually market mainly to this segment of the population and have procedures and plans set up to either “treat” the illness or, at the very least, follow its progressive resolution. Look at this situation very closely now. You will see that without the sick person, this doctor’s practice and therefore his or her own financial security will quickly die. I will suggest to you that no person will willingly work against his or her own financial well-being. This then creates a major incongruence between the desired outcome for the community and his or her own personal prosperity. As a result, the doctor will find him or herself continually sabotaging his or her practice whether consciously or unconsciously. Or, at the very least, there will be a high level of stress and unhappiness. It does not need to be this way!

The problem here is not with the positive vision of what is possible for the community, it is not even with the day to day procedures. It is with the doctor’s understanding of the purpose of the adjustment and of the limited goal of optimal health! Let me explain what I mean by this. If you believe that the purpose of the adjustment is to allow the body to heal, then you will require the presence of people in your community that need healing in order for you to be successful! In addition, once a person is “healed” there is no reason to continue with care except to prevent a problem from occurring again. But, as I have pointed out before, living a life of prevention means simply living to NOT DIE! Is that the purpose of life – to not die? If on the other hand, you believe that the purpose of life is to continually grow physically, mentally, socially and spiritually all the way until you die, and you know that once you are healthy you can continue this growth process, then the purpose of the adjustment becomes about allowing for the greatest possible expression of our Innate Intelligence. And, all people - healthy and sick alike – can benefit from chiropractic care and continually grow toward the full expression of their purpose and their potential in life. In this scenario, your practice does NOT depend upon having sick people in your town in order for you to prosper.

The incongruence has been eliminated and you now open up the door to the possibility of creating what you want for your community without compromising your own financial freedom. B.J. saw chiropractic as an incredible way to help sick people get well. I believe this is why he never saw his utopia develop. His vision required his community to have sick people in order for him to still be useful to it. It is time to take the incredible gifts that D.D. and B.J. Palmer gave to us and expand our awareness to include what is possible for us beyond just being healthy. Ask yourself how often you put energy into seeing and experiencing a world without the things you don’t want, as opposed to focusing your energy on creating exactly what you do want. When you focus on what you prefer to see, that is what you get. Remember – you cannot escape something you are giving your attention to!

Ask yourself what the purpose of the adjustment is, and if can you expand your vision now. Ask yourself how amazing the world would be if everyone truly understood the miracle they are, and that chiropractic helps them express the Inner Perfection that was placed within them at the moment of conception? We may not see a utopian society in our lifetimes, but expanding our thinking in this way will help each of us to see the perfection that exists right here, right now and will allow us to appreciate and enjoy the process of progressive unfoldment. When each of us reaches this level of awareness, we will realize that experiencing utopia is possible on an individual basis, because we will see that it is nothing more than a choice each of us makes every moment of every day.

I am not a chiropractor

Matt Monetti

I am not a chiropractor (just a spouse of one), but I have been coming to New Beginnings every single time since chiropractic first came into my life through my love and my wife (the lovely, talented and beautiful) Annie in the year 2000. Thanks to her and so many of those who are part of the NB family I can now join Bobby Tarantino and say “I live in a chiropractic world”. My understanding and acceptance of it may not be as great as all in this room, but I am an educated professional person who is capable of grasping all aspects of chiropractic (physical, spiritual, philosophical, social and so on). I have to tell you for me there is no turning away from my chiropractic life. Chiropractic permeates all aspects of my life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I have been on this planet a mere 42 years, and for most of that time I lived what I learned in childhood and thought that chiropractic was something to handle minor back problems. It’s amazing how very far from the truth this really is. We all are reaching the masses one person at a time, and I believe it is changing this world for the better. I know, and you all know, there is much more work to be done. I struggle with the line between medical and chiropractic approaches, at least in my mind. I supported the medical approach as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for over 12 years. I responded to over 3000 calls for assistance in our modern day 911 system (most of them before my life was changed by chiropractic). I think there is some agreement in this room that there is a place for the medical approach to save some.

I heard a presenter at the last NB mention the time factor in chiropractic and imply that the improvement in a disease does not occur the instant of the adjustment, but that the process starts in motion once the subluxation is corrected through an applied force. So I can reason that there are cases where the severity of the disease is so imminently dangerous to a life and/or the faith in chiropractic is not strong enough to cease and bring ease. But the sad sad truth that you all know is that the medical model has a strong hold on most of the population of this country and throughout the world and they over-medicate by pushing drugs for trivial discomforts and cut up way to many people for nonsense. Very little attention is paid to the risks associated, but an increasing percentage of the populace is clearly awakening to the dangers of the medical approach and the benefits of non-invasive techniques and a change in life-style.

The medical profession is Big Business with powerful political allies but truth (chiropractic) will prevail. My wife has a poster in her office that you all know and probably someone here can take credit for. It reads Chiropractic First, Drugs Second and Surgery Last. She added some key words to supplement the sentiment. Chiropractic First – Inside Out, Drugs Second – Outside In and Surgery – Insides Out. I am certain that of all those patients I took to the hospital for emergency care as an EMT most could have been helped through chiropractic. What a shame that there is so little understanding of chiropractic in the populace at this point. The medical community may save more lives than it losses, but they are never truly saved because their patients continue to make the wrong choices and wait for the next disease to strike while they deal with the multitude of side effects of drugs and/or surgery.

Due to my training and nature I sprung to action on September 11, 2001. I was headed into New York City for work by car that morning that the terrorist struck. My thought was that I could help care for casualties. I got off at an unfamiliar exit, parked my car at a diner in Jersey City and walked a fair distance to the Holland Tunnel expecting that there would be a heavy flow of emergency vehicles into the city for mutual aid. There were none. I spotted an ambulance down the road and made my way to them. I ended up in Hoboken where thousands of people were being shuttled across the river by ferry (all other crossings were closed).

The emergency response community has plans in place for such catastrophic events and there was staging for decontamination of people closest to ground zero, and amble emergency medical support and triage for hundreds to thousands of people. All for naught, since, in this case, most people either perished inside the towers or made it out unharmed. There were very few that sustained injuries and then came through Hoboken on that day. I came to NB soon after that day and heard of the chiropractors that responded to serve on that day and days to follow. A few chiropractors helped more people recover from that horrible event than the multitude of emergency responders. It was a horrific event, but a good opportunity to spread chiropractic.

I had a childhood with ailments like many, so I had surgery (tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and tubes in my ears for chronic infections. I had who knows how many vaccinations and medications because my parents thought that the correct approach was the medical one. Imagine popping pills for an upset stomach and a sinus headache for 36 years, and then one day someone guides you down a different path. You begin to understand, accept and have faith in this approach. Now I no longer take medications. I trust that my body has an innate healing capability and that chiropractic is a major step to help manage disease and keep me performing my best at all times. I am connected to a higher universal intelligence. Our kids grow up without the standard and ever increasing round of vaccinations that the medical profession pushes. They grow up so full of life through chiropractic. I am certain many of can fathom this and know about this transition in life either because you have also experienced it or are closely connected with someone who has.

My birth family doesn’t get it. Although they whine that they hate to go to the medical doctor and say they feel worse afterwards, they still do. Annie and I take opportunities to explain the chiropractic approach, but ultimately it is a personal choice. We do the same with others in our lives as well. It seems so clear to us that when you take a medication to relieve a symptom you then feel better, but since you are not healed you can worsen your condition by continuing activities that those symptoms were protecting you against. For many people there seems to be a huge hurdle to leap to join the chiropractic world. The other side has instilled such fear that they are essentially brainwashed into this heavy reliance on the medical approach. That may be harsh to say, but until chiropractic gains much wider acceptance there is little that can be done do persuade many. Perhaps I was just fortunate to have someone close to me assist me across. Again, I cite the entire NB family as being a major resource in my transition.

I have one last thought I would like to share at this time. As I said I am not a chiropractor, but I believe I am a strong supporter of chiropractic. After being at NB so many times I believe that you can be a chiropractor but not practice chiropractic without the philosophy. What you get here makes the difference between simply giving an adjustment and changing lives for the better. From what I gathered here most schools don’t teach the philosophy and therefore most new DCs only adjust and practice symptom-based care not much differently than an MD would. Not having the experience I don’t even want to mention this any further.

This is an internal conflict in the chiropractic profession that is best left to those with degrees. I am drifting from my original thoughts anyway. I want to mention how I, as a non-chiropractor, support chiropractic. My wife practices chiropractic. She is also a full time mother of our 5 children, 2 of which are preschool aged. At this stage the balance is such that the family needs limit the practice. She serves chiropractic well by adjusting and passing on the philosophy to each patient. Since the income is in turn limited we utilize other income, namely my salary, to support the practice. I think this shows the dedication that she and I have to chiropractic. We certainly look ahead to a time when the practice will help us reach a state that satisfies all our financial desires. I also support chiropractic by taking over family roles that my wife has when she attends meetings or has patients. At times this means I take time off from work and other times I give up the little free time I have. It always means we give up time together. I realize that this is not an unusual arrangement for most couples today, but my wife will see patients with little notice and at all hours of the day. Lastly, I support chiropractic by sharing what I know with those around me. I have learned so much in the last six years of my life, and it is valuable enough to make sure the message reaches as many and as quickly as it can.

I love to come here and participate in NB and absorb the knowledge that exists in this room. Each time it is a little different, whether by design of the board or by changes in me, but I always feel uplifted and more focused on chiropractic after sharing these experiences with the NB family. And I am not even a chiropractor, so I can only imagine how incredible you all feel after a NB weekend. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you!

New Beginnings for a New Future
Chiropractic Philosophy Weekend

When: Sept 28 - Oct 1, 2006

Where: Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, Eatontown, New Jersey, for reservations, call the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center today at 1-732-542-6500 and ask for the special New Beginnings rate - www.sheratoneatontown.com

Who: Click Here for Full List of Speakers

Special Events:

Continuing Education Credit returns to New Beginnings with speakers YOU WANT TO HEAR. 14 hours with such notable speakers as Dick Plummer, Cheryl Langley, Dave Smith, Bill Decken, Gary Horwin, Bob Braile -- and that is only Thursday Sept. 28th.

Friday Continuing Education speakers include: Kevin Donka, Kevin Fogarty, Chris Kent, Pat Gentempo, and Eric Plasker. There's more ----

Saturday -- Jeanne Ohm, Tony Carino, Peter Kevorkian, and Jim Sigafoose.

Continuing Education with speaker's who talk your language! Couple that with the rest of the fabulous New Beginnings lineup and you have a magical weekend

How Much:

• $299.00 - plus $50 each additional doctor
• $375 at the door - plus $50 for each additional doctor

Learn more: Visit our website at www.newbeginningschiro.com

Register now: Please call us at - 732-747-4646