It’s interesting how, no matter how much we know or think we know, we can always learn more. Further, no matter how much we think we have our act together, we can still have demonstrated to us our incorrect or fuzzy thinking. For example, a simple phrase like, “the body heals itself” can lead to problems. Yet, it is a term that we straight chiropractors have used thousands of times. Recently I was speaking with a chiropractor on the telephone and in the course of our philosophical discussion, he made the comment that the body really doesn’t heal itself. It suddenly struck me for the first time. He’s right! It’s the innate intelligence of the body that does the healing and that distinction must be made. If the body healed itself, the cadavers in dissection class in chiropractic colleges could be used indefinitely! From one semester to another the work done by the students would heal over. The fact that cadavers don’t heal is indication that the body does not heal itself. The intelligence does the healing.
We must be careful to make the distinction between intelligence and matter (and force also). While the three are necessary and united components of a living organism, they are separate and distinct, and should be viewed as such. All matter doesn’t heal itself. Only living matter, and then within certain limitations. But if living matter is capable of healing itself, and all matter is essentially made up of the same or similar atomic structure, we must conclude that it is something other than the matter that heals. Fortunately, we chiropractors have already identified and named that “something else.” To say that the body heals itself ignores that vitalistic principle we work with every day. Some would like to do that, remove innate intelligence from our working vocabulary and the practical application of it in our profession. They can live with the idea that the body heals itself. It’s a self-evident fact. However, they would like to get rid of this vitalistic term. But it would be an insult to our historical, philosophical tenets and also downright stupid. It’s like dropping your car keys and believing that the keys made themselves hit the ground. A law called gravity causes them to be attracted to the earth. It is a principle separate and distinct from the matter of the keys. It may be constantly acting on the keys but it is not the matter of the keys. It is different.
Are we splitting hairs? Sure, that’s what philosophy is all about. That’s what objective straight chiropractic is all about, making the subtle, fine distinctions between what we do and what everyone else does. If you don’t make those fine distinctions eventually you make no distinction. That’s where most of profession is today.
Should we stop using the phrase, “the body heals itself?” No, of course not. But in doing so, we should realize that it is not the body but the principle expressing itself through the body, the law of life, innate intelligence, that is doing the healing. Not only should we understand that but so should our patients and the public. That’s the important issue, communicating to people a true, clear vitalistic principle. The living body heals itself! Perhaps that is the major difference between us and everyone else. Everybody else works with the matter. We work with the intelligence and enable it to better express itself through that matter. The world needs to know and understand that difference. v11n2