OPENING MY MIND

One time my mom asked me, "If all your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump off too?"
My eyes bulged and heart raced with excitement, "Really? Where? How high is it? Is there water under the bridge, or maybe just one of those trampoline things?"
Mom tried changing her question to jumping off a cliff but quickly dubbed me hopeless, chalking it up to my Ambrosius genetics. If any inkling of doubt remained in my mother's mind, it was permanently squelched a few years later when she watched me jump off a bridge by moonlight in Los Angeles. This was back when few people had heard of bungee jumping, and my friends purchased their heavy duty bungee cords under the guise of chiropractic students designing exercise equipment.
Just as I knew many years ago that jumping off that bridge with my friends would be an unforgettable, life enriching experience, I also knew that what I experienced with my own health was not a normal part of aging. I believe intuitively we all know what ails us, and the path we must take to find healing. When we follow the healthiest path, life becomes easy. But sometimes we make poor diet choices, or choose not to exercise. Sometimes we choose to live in stressful situations, because we stop believing it is possible to live healthier.
It is easy to believe that minor health problems like weight gain, memory loss, or muscle and joint pains are simply the result of getting older. Since there is no drug or surgery to cure such maladies your doctor will often declare you well even when you do not feel well at all. I used to be one of those doctors who wanted an answer to every question, who wanted to label every complaint with a disease.
It took me years to realize that a + b does not always equal c. I would see two patients who presented exactly the same. I treated the two patients exactly the same. One would get better quickly, and the other did not get better at all. In school I learned that a specific bacteria or virus would cause a specific disease. I learned in life that just because a person is exposed to a specific virus or bacteria does not mean they will develop the disease. Why are some babies born to HIV positive mothers HIV positive and others are not? Why do some people have severe reactions to immunizations or medications and others do not?
Throughout my practice I have encountered many patients who have been healed of many deadly diseases from hepatitis to cancer with a list of what most doctors would consider obvious placebos. Be it the power of prayer, a diet, an herb, magnets, some type of laser or ozone machine; the one thing all these patients had in common was that they knew they would be healed.
I am grateful to the many patients I have had who have opened my mind to all the possibilities. I hope that I never give up looking for that next adventure, cure, or life enriching experience because that is what truly cures us all.