Does chiropractic fit into the environmental movement? Many chiropractors feel that having a “natural” approach to health aligns us with environmentalists. There are some applications of the principle outlined in the preceding article entitled “Dis-ease” that enable us to better understand our role as chiropractors in our society. One of the arguments of the environmentalists is that every cell or living thing in the universe affects every other. Their argument is further strengthened by a principle that we use in chiropractic philosophy that which is true in the perceptible realm is also true in the imperceptible realm. As an example, if you drop a brick into a bucket of water, the level of the water raises in proportion to the mass of the brick (Law of Displacement of Fluids). Similarly, if you drop a brick into Lake Erie the lake will rise by the mass of the brick. It is obviously imperceptible and impossible to measure, yet the principle remains true. How does all of this relate to chiropractic, the environmentalists, and the world?
It is both true and part of our philosophy that every organism and even every cell affects every other and that there is a relationship between life forms. However, the concept is only practical and effective as long as we realize that everything in the universe affects us and thus conduct our lives accordingly. In understanding that principle we work toward enabling ourselves to effectively adapt to what in chiropractic is referred to as universal forces. As long as we do this everything appears to be fine.
The converse is also true. Everything we do affects every cell in the universe, to some degree. Unfortunately, the realization of that fact often precipitates action that is not in accordance with our chiropractic philosophy. Realizing we can affect the universe by our actions, we may become arrogant and attempt to make changes in nature, or the world (our state, our profession, or other people) rather than confining our attention to self. I may view the above attempt as minding my own business. Before jumping to a conclusion here that this view is selfish and only caring about #1, hear me out. This is fundamental and of paramount importance. If there is, in fact, a relationship between myself and the universe, then by improving myself, my quality of life and life expression (physically, mentally, and spiritually), I am improving the whole of the universe, without meddling in the affairs of or, excuse the expression, encroaching upon someone else’s “space.” This is the essential difference between the environmentalist and the chiropractor.
Since the environmentalist thinks of us as all “cells of the universal body” let us look at the situation in light of human function. A human cell does not worry about changing the environment of the rest of the body. Neither does it attempt to change the environment that surrounds it. It merely works (under the direction of greater wisdom) to adapt itself to its environment whatever that environment might be. Likewise the innate intelligence of the body works to adapt the entire organism to the ever-changing environment. The innate intelligence of my body does not try to change the functioning of other people’s bodies. Moreover, the educated brain’s objective is to enable the organism to better adapt to its environment. With these two examples before us, how do we have the arrogance to attempt to change the environment? We know that every cell, paying attention to its own needs and adapting to the environment, results in a healthy organism without thinking or worrying about it. Heart cells do not worry about the kidney cells. They just take their orders from the wisdom of the body and leave the kidney to do the same. However, the heart cells “know” that by being the best they can be, the kidney is better off. If each of us paid attention to ourselves, and endeavored to be the best possible expression of life, not worrying about the universe or trying to change the world, then the world will change within its limitation. (Those limitations exist even if we attempt to change nature.) All the well-meaning people who dragged the beached whales off the shore were frustrated as the whales repeatedly beached themselves. Perhaps the whales were responding to a universal force and the environmentalists were meddling. We really can’t change or alter the universal scheme of things. What we need to do is make sure we are adapting to our greatest potential. Chiropractors understand this principle. The environmentalists have yet to learn it. v3n6
