The Division between Traditional Chiropractic and Objective Chiropractic and everything else for that matter is pretty simple.
What Are We Really All About? What is the objective of the chiropractor, not only with regard to the individual practice member but with regard to the world as a whole? Chiropractors have been seeking an answer to that question for years. I believe we have all gotten past the point of curing deafness even though that may have been the original objective of the first chiropractor. Most of us have also gotten past the idea of curing every disease. I say “most” just to be on the safe side. Some seem to give the impression
that that is their chiropractic objective although they would deny it if charged. Some have reduced our objective and our contributions to mankind to treating minor musculoskeletal problems.I think most of the profession has gone through what some might call an “evolution” but I prefer to call it a “distillation” or “refinement” of the chiropractic objective and its contribution to the betterment of the world. It may be best viewed as a reformation and likened to the Protestant Reformation, in which Martin Luther and others rejected some of the additions of Rome to the doctrines of Christianity and wanted to get back to the orthodox roots of the Church. In going through that refinement, we have passed through periods in which we have thought our objective was to get sick people well and change the world… “If you’re not out to change the world, everything else is just Mickey Mouse” or “Chiropractic today for a better world tomorrow” to being a part of the “human potential movement.” Others have sought to move chiropractic toward the practice of medicine, to “evolve” chiropractic into something that already existed. Both groups would view the other as devolution rather than an evolution. While all of these may be worthwhile endeavors, I don’t believe any of them truly grasp what B.J. Palmer called “the Big Idea of chiropractic.” Perhaps even B.J. did not grasp the Big Idea of chiropractic or the bigness of the Big Idea. If he had, would he ever have addressed the lesser idea of getting sick people well? Do any of us truly grasp this Big Idea? Getting sick people well is not it. Chiropractic today for a better world tomorrow is not it. The Big Idea of chiropractic is that of removing interference to the full expression of the forces of the innate intelligence of the body. It is not about changing symptoms, changing the world or changing anything else. It is about removing nerve interference and allowing to happen whatever is going to happen as a result of that fuller expression. It is not really in our hands nor should it be in our hearts or heads. For every person it is something different and the result is up to the innate intelligence of that person’s body and the matter it has been given. What we are about is doing the best we can to LACVS. Then and only then can the innate intelligence of that person’s body work closer to its full potential. Will that enable them to get well? I have no idea. Will that make this a better world? I don’t know. Will that cause a person to reach their potential in every or any area of life? I know that there are many factors that determine whether a person can reach their full potential and that there are many factors that can interfere with that occurring. One of those interferences is vertebral subluxation and I can address that one. Perhaps we need to stop focusing on changing the world and changing peoples’ symptoms and focus on what we are really about…allowing the expression of the law of life to occur without one small interference. We must focus our attention on doing that and what that means for every person…better innate expression, nothing more, nothing less. We have no idea what the ramifications of that will be nor should we conjecture concerning it. If so we might as well speculate what it will do for their headache or backache, deafness or what a world free of subluxated people will look like. We don’t know nor should we guess. There are many factors which will determine that, some perhaps even more critical than clearing the vertebral subluxations of every man, woman, and child, which we could not do even if we tried. Allowing better expression is not what it means for their medical condition, what it means for their little world or what we think it means for the entire world as we know it, or as we think it should be. Allowing better expression is what we are all about and that is a Big Idea, a Very Big Idea.
Reggie, in his 87 tapes speaks of the Big Idea (and all else follows), as a representation of deductive logic, a Major Premise (Big Idea), and all else follows (the 32 principles). THIS was unique to Chiropractic, not having a philosophy but being a philosophy, being offered as a profession, as a service to mankind.
When you refer to “the bigness of the Big Idea”, I understand, and agree with your analysis of Chiropractic progressing through an evolution (revolution???), from sickness, to potential, to the removing of interference to the full expression of the forces of the innate intelligence of the body. BUT as we know it’s the SIZZLE that sells not the STEAK. Seems to me that “removing of interference to the full expression of the forces of the innate intelligence” has a lot of steak to it, but not that much sizzle unless it is understood, in it’s magnitude by Both the PM and the Chiropractor.
Maybe in a way, Reggie really, in his communicating style, in his effortless way of presenting information was really selling an amalgamation of Chiropractic AND Reggie Gold.
Conviction. Absolute untarnished, unhampered conviction in the principles of chiropractic need to be communicated, unequivocally for the steak, in it’s raw form to be purchased again and again.
But then again, that’s only my opinion. Duh!
One type of chiropractic vs any other type of chiropractic. ..some problems exist… one is, it has not been demonstrated to date, when or where a vertebral subluxation, as defined in Stephenson’s, is present in a particular person that the profession can agree on, except philosophically. Second is, there is no definitive way to know when a vertebral subluxation has been corrected since we don’t know if one was present. The chiropractor can in no way, determine if innate forces corrected the subluxation as there is no known way to monitor innate force. There also is no way to monitor mental impulses to know if or when they are being interfered with, except philosophically. There is no way to know what an individual’s full potential is, what level they are functioning at and if it is changed with an “adjustment “, except philosophically. If our “objectivity” is to remove nerve interference so an individual can reach a fuller expression of their potential, that is different in every individual and cannot be measured or monitored by any chiropractor and agreed on by all, it can only be a philosophical objective, not a tangible or attainable objective.
How does an individual comprehend the benefit of a service they are receiving if it is purely philosophical and only objective in the mind of the provider of that service? I know the value of putting air in my tires even though I can’t see the air or feel it… I can measure it with a gauge. I then know the tire will perform to its potential and not blow out going down the road due to under inflation.
If chiropractic is not able to produce a tangible, physiological result for the person receiving it, they might just as well read a chiropractic philosophy book and get excited about the philosophical rules of the universe, otherwise what do they have to gauge the service?
I post these thoughts because they are what I see as a huge problem for the constructs of chiropractic and the reason the profession has not grown or progressed. I admit I believed all philosophy principles for quite some time until coming to the realization none of them are concrete or practicable, or else I wouldn’t have these concerns. Chiropractic does help people with physical problems, but not by correcting vsc. No two chiropractors apply chiropractic the same and yet seem to help people at various levels with their complaints. I have come to my own conclusion the philosophy of why is of no importance to the patient and results are what they expect. Chiropractors can continue telling the “story” and deluding themselves on its relevance as to why they do what they do, but they should realize it is only important to them. It is akin to religion, a premise that can only be realized in the mind.
If this is not the case with chiropractic, why can’t it be shown that it is what it says it is? (Other than philosophically, that is.) It is one thing to promise many mansions, but it is an entirely different thing to produce them. An idea may be big, but it only remains an idea if it is not realized.
Rich,
Thank you for sharing your concerns. Everything you posted is based on the hope that you know what chiropractic is not. What chiropractic is, just is! Unless you understand, and that it makes sense to you, that organization bespeaks intelligence, you will never have any basis to hope to know what chiropractic is. –
– The truth is that you HOPE that the tire will perform to its full potential as you believe the manufacturer “story”. You HOPE that they are telling you the truth… yet you don’t know that for sure as it is a part of your belief system in YOUR mind. In Québec during the winter month of 400+inches of snow, we under inflate the tires, with the HOPE that those tires will have wider and greater traction. – You see, ALL of life is based on hope, no matter what is your experience. –
– It is me WHO chooses to accept the major premise as the start point of chipropractic’s meaning of existence (universal life).. Then through rational logic and deductive reasoning, the rest of the 33 principles make logical sense to me as they give rise to the chiropractic objective, which absolutely NOT to have people reach their “full potential or to “help people with their complaints”. –
– With regard to “HOW an individual comprehend”? Well the same way that YOU comprehend the “story” that Michelin provided you for inflating your tires. Obviously Michelin’s “story” resonated with you enough that it moved you to accept it, in the HOPE that it will not blow out…. and further more, Michelin’s “story” inspired you to share it with this blog. Kudos to Michelin!!! Now, let us ALL go forward and do the same by telling chiropractic’s “story” over and over and over and over again, in as many CREATIVE ways as doable!!! 😉
I find this blog profound at the very least. OSC, TSC, VSC, Mixed-in-C, Mixed-up-C…there are an awful lot of C’s out there now. I agree with you Joe, at the very heart of TIC is LACVS. The problem is that all of those C’s believe that they are right. They believe that their way is the best way. BUT, if they were truly honest, the only thing that has made chiropractic survive all these years and what gives us a license in each state, is that which makes us separate and distinct…The detection and correction of subluxation. As evidenced by one of the comments above, most chiropractors don’t understand and were not taught the three parts of chiropractic; the Science, Art and Philosophy of chiropractic. I believe that if all three legs of this stool are not strong, the chiropractor will fall. If he or she understands the science of TIC, their philosophy of TIC becomes stronger because the science backs up the theory or Law in this case (the Law of Life). If they know how to deliver an adjustment, with any sound technique, the science and philosophy kick in together and the very chemistry of the body changes and produce a MEASURABLE change that the chiropractor could sell as his “sizzle”. This “Steak” as he put it, can not “sizzle” until the art, science and philosophy are united in the TOR’s office.
I agree that we can not promise any outcome from the LACVS nor should we care what the outcome is as that is up to innate but on a practical level, we have all observed the result of reducing sublxuations. We have all observed the miracles in the office. We have all observed the benefits of being checked weekly for VS. I believe we need to honor the origins of chiropractic healing the deaf and getting sick people well while embracing the benefits of living a subluxation free life without interference.
Let’s let LACVS be the thing that UNITES the OSC, the TSC and yes even the mixer that does not allow the patient to leave without having their spine checked for VS and adjusted before they leave. Let’s let that be the dividing line between TORs and “everything else”. There is a time and a place for “everything else” but the only time for a TOR applying TIC is when there are VS to be located and corrected.
For everyone that knows me…sorry…I know it takes me a long time to get to where I am going. That was a long hot gust of air… 🙂
In Health and Faith, Jay Korsen