Being Myself ~ The Beacon for March 1, 2011

Last week I had a tremendous learning that I want to share with you.  I was presented with quite an opportunity.  A gentleman from our community, Paul Manly, contacted me and expressed interest in doing an exchange of some chiropractic care for some video work.  Paul is a local documentary maker who has quite an impressive background and portfolio.  I jumped at the chance as I have been intending to bring some of my ideas to video making it more accessible for people and to provide it to a larger community via the internet.

I met with Paul at the beginning of Feb. and made plans for a video shoot that was to take place on Feb 20^th.   This allowed me over two weeks to prepare.  I began brainstorming the various topics that I wanted to discuss.  Having done talks in the office nearly every week since the opening of the Lifehouse I had a lot of material to organize and prioritize.  Easily I had a list of my top 13 ideas I wanted to share.  The next step was to organize each of the talks.  I meticulously wrote out each script, picking the perfect words, having great lead-ins and tie-ins.  The whole thing was quite a project.  I invested around 30 hours in prep time.   Which seemed strange as the topics were not new to me, many of them were ideas that I had communicated 100 times over.  However, I wanted to prepare so I could really master them and complete as many as possible in the four hours that we had scheduled for the shoot.

The day of the shoot finally arrived.  Lights were set up, cordless microphones in place and camera rolling…. 

“Hi, I’m Dr. Norm, a blah, blah, blahblahblah.”   Shoot, okay, take two.   “Hi. I’m Dr. Norm and these are your optimal health ideas.”  I said with a nervous voice and no smile.  Yikes, I was tight.  Take three. Take four.  And so the morning progressed.   By the end of the shoot we struggled through to get 3 done, nowhere close to the 13 that I thought we would complete.  I was left feeling tired, tight and disconnected - a feeling that was inconsistent to me to feel after any of my other talks.  Well it was a beginning and was soon to be a giant learning for me as well.

Paul dropped off an unedited copy of the shoot so I could review the tape and learn more.  Watching the video I could see within a few minutes of what was going on.  I was not being myself.  Wow!  With all the excitement of doing video, of wanting to bring my message to a larger community somehow I convinced myself that I needed to be someone else.  Someone bigger, someone smarter, someone more polished.  Yikes!

This happens to the best of us, I’m sure.  And as uncomfortable as this learning was for me it also included this most precious remembering:

Norm the world needs you, and needs you to be no one else but yourself.

The same goes for you as well.  So when you feel bombarded and pushed to ‘fit’ a certain expectation others have on you… take a moment to stop, catch your breath, center and reflect on who you are and how you want to express yourself authentically and then take it from there.  And remember if you don’t get it right the first time there is always….”take two”!

Living and learning.

Dr. Norm

Health is a series of choices ~ The Beacon for February 22, 2011

Many people believe that disease is due to bad luck, bad genes or bad germs.  This is not true.  For the most part it is not their fault to have these beliefs as the prevailing health authorities are encouraging us to think this way.  This is bad science.  As science shows that the most significant impact on our health is our lifestyle choices.  Disease is predominantly due to bad choices not bad genes, bad germs or bad luck. 

But you might argue “My mom had the same disease that I was just diagnosed with”.  Or “My neighbour’s son has the same disease his father has”.   Yes diseases may run in the family but so do lifestyle choices.  Let’s face it - where do most of our lifestyle choices come from anyways? - Our parents.   Many of us eat like our parents, think similar thoughts to our parents and whether we exercise or not exercise is generally the same way as our parents.    Genes are merely the templates that the body gets to choose from.  How the body develops itself is the genetic potential.  Is there range in that potential?  Is there a variance of which genes get activated and which ones lay dormant? - You betcha.

This generation is the first generation that has a lower life expectancy than the previous generation. This is the first time in human history that this will ever happen.  Let’s face it humans are the sickest species on the planet.  We have more heart disease, more cancer, more suicides, and more preventable illness than any other species on the planet.   For the most part it has only been in the last 50 years that our disease rates have been dramatically increasing.  Is this because our genes have all of a sudden been deteriorating?    Or has there been a massive change in our lifestyle?

The down side to this conversation is that you are responsible for your own health.  The upside to this story is that you are responsible for your own health.   Knowing this can either be a burden or completely empower you.  Guess the choice is yours.

Empowering you to make healthy choices.

Dr. Norm

Here are a couple of links about children of this generation expected to have a shorter life expectancy than the previous generation. 

http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/first-generation-in-history-to-have-lower-life-expectancy/

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Kids+life+expectancy+lower+than+parents+Report/1976117/story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/17/health/17obese.html

KISS – Being The Best “You” You Can Be ~ The Beacon for February 11, 2011

We have all heard of the K.I.S.S. principle; keep it simple silly!  Ralph Waldo Emerson once said it another way, that genius is the ability to make the complicated simple.  In reality, most things are inherently simple already; it is WE who have complicated them! 

We have been told how hard it is to stay healthy by every doctor, magazine ad, TV and radio commercial and even our own teachers and parents.  But the truth is that health (what I call EASE) is our natural state!  When we allow our Life Force to be expressed at high levels in and through our bodies, we vibrantly express health automatically!  You are probably wondering what it takes to keep your Life Force flowing at the highest levels all the time.  That too is very simple.  It really comes down to three things;

Three things are necessary for maximum health and wellbeing "being the best YOU” you can be.

a)     Clarity - having a clear intention and direction in life; aligning your thoughts, words, and actions with what you want to be, do, and have.

b)     Connection - a clear neurological connection between your brain and your body (which is communicated through your spine) so you can ideally express yourself physically, mentally and emotionally.

c)     Wellness - a healthy lifestyle that supports you with everything you need to be your best.

It really is that simple!  So get your head on straight, get adjusted, and nourish yourself with a great lifestyle. If you work on continually improving each of these three things, you will see yourself progressively growing healthier than you have ever been – maybe even healthier than you have ever believed was possible.  What will your life be like when you are beaming your Life Light so brilliantly by Being the Best "You" You Can Be?   Sounds like fun to me. 

With thanks and gratitude to Dr. Kevin Donka, D.C. for his writing contributions.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Cheers

Dr. Norm

See you Monday as we celebrate The Lifehouse's 6th Anniversary!

Are You Reacting or Responding? ~ The Beacon for February 4, 2011

What is the difference between a reaction and a response?  How quickly does it take for you to react to something?  How long does it take for you to respond to something?  How does it feel in your body when you react?  How does it feel when you respond?  What is the typical end result when you react?  What is the typical end result when you respond?

Yes, there certainly is a difference between a reaction and a response not only in end results and feelings but in how they both are generated in your being.  A reaction happens out of defense and is created when our bodies are in what is known as defense physiology.  The information comes into our bodies and travels into the spinal cord (and sometimes up to the hind brain) and very quickly a reaction is produced.  A prime example is the knee jerk reaction.  A rubber mallet is struck against your knee ligaments, the energy is communicated to the spinal cord, and almost instantaneously a reaction is produced.    Other examples of reactions are when something happens in our environment and we see them as being a threat, perhaps our partner yells at us or we are worried about financial failure, in both of these examples the information travels up to the base of the brain stem, the hind brain and a survival reaction is produced.  Whatever the trigger all reactions are quick, use lower brain function and are all based on previous pre-programmed patterns.  Reactions tend to reproduce themselves over and over.

Responses on the other hand, happen when we open in a growth physiology.  The response happens much slower as the information is going to come into us and travel all the way up the spine, through to the mid brain (where our emotional state is going to be considered) and then up into the fore brain (where conscious thought creative ideas, perspective of past and future all live).  The interconnections in the fore brain are numerous and very complex.  A plethora of possibilities are all available to us.   When we are open in growth physiology we are able to assess all of the information, compile it with all that we know and all that we feel, and then create a response that is unique to each situation.  Responses allow us and our situations to grow into something new.

I encourage you on a moment to moment basis to breath, feel your situations, allow yourself time to integrate the energy of your experiences and then respond from your higher brain your highest good.  Search for opportunities to grow.  Once you get to the higher brain there are literally thousands of possibilities for growth.  Choose the one that serves your highest good!

Have a great weekend.

Cheers
Dr. Norm


Mindful Mothering & Artful Living

 






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Please check out the following blog written by Erin.  She's a fantastic mom to nine month old Koan.  Her blog has a series of resources and commentaries.