If a patient is in defense during the procedure, he is resistant to help as well. When a patient goes into a defense state, he becomes rigid and unyielding. His senses become very acute but he focuses only on things that she thinks may harm her or cause her pain and grief. This makes for a tense environment and an unfavorable experience. In the case of the chiropractic office, when a patient is apprehensive and resistant at the outset, forcing the treatment will only make matters worse. This is how patients under chiropractic care get hurt, how chiropractors get bad reputations and why the profession as a whole is looked upon unfavorably by most people.

My reason for writing this book is not to bash chiropractors or healthcare providers but to offer a solution that will create a win-win situation for both patient and practitioner as well as improve the healing experience in general.

When I started practice, I worked for a subluxation –based chiropractic group. A subluxation occurs when a vertebrae moves out of place causing pressure on a nerve, which interferes with the normal expression of that nerve resulting in illness or disease. A subluxation –based chiropractic practice focuses on removal of subluxation by manipulation and whatever mechanical means necessary to meet the objective. The doctors that I worked with were macho tough guys who liked what they did and bragged about their successes and miracles.

We used physical therapy devices to prepare patients for the adjustment that they were about to receive. These machines would shock and shake and heat or cool and traction and goad the patient so that they would be more receptive to the adjustment. My job was to then enter the room and do the deed quickly and leave. The adjustment would of course, put the patient right back into defense again. We repeated the process 24-50 times until the patient got better.

What I offer with Symphony is an alternative strategy, one that is less forceful and more graceful. I am proposing a practice that enables innate intelligence to express itself naturally. Innate intelligence is also known as energy, Universal Intelligence, instinct.

I have found that by unlocking defense, and restoring natural rhythm, the patient’s spine usually adjusts itself and I rarely have to deliver the adjustive thrust. This finding supports the Chiropractic principle of innate intelligence; that the body has the ability to self organize and heal itself. (Wikipedia)

Symphony is a simple concept; unlock the mind and body and let nature’s rhythm restore balance and harmony. Symphony may challenge you in the beginning because of its simplicity. To be effective at Symphony, you have to let go of most of your preconceived ideas about healing, moving energy and shifting consciousness.

Symphony is about moving energy and energy healing. It is more of an art than a science, more of a feeling rather than a measured outcome.  In Symphony, we want to bring the conscious mind to the front of awareness.

The Symphony model explains the conscious mind and its role in living. That conscious mind is not distracted by the gimmicks and distractions nor is it capable of rationalizing away what has occurred. It records what happens and sets defense in place to protect the body from a future incident. The old saying goes something like this; fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.   The exception to this is of course that this trauma causes the release of endorphins into the system. Some people actually get a buzz from the experience. I started to focus on this idea of defense and began looking at how it fit into the puzzle. My findings became what today is called Symphony.

Although unlocking defense is the primary objective of Symphony, don’t get the idea that we are trying to extinguish this behavior. Defense is there for self preservation. Removing defense would be like taking out organs because we think that they are not necessary. The purpose of Symphony is to unlock the cognitive mind and the body from defense. Defense causes stress and fatigue, which accelerate the aging process.  Defense uses fear as the inhibiting emotion to prevent you from exploring and new ideas or testing your limits. Defense convinces us that we are limited and therefore live in quiet desperation and fear. As we age we get closer to living in quiet despair because of the self imposed limitations of fear and defense.

What is Defense

Defense is a protective mechanism. Most defense actions involve withdrawal responses such as flinching, evading, or abandoning. Defense should be a momentary event. People get into trouble when their mind and body get locked into defense and they remain in defense long after the threat has passed.

Take for example a close call on the highway. At the moment you react to get out of the way. You are successful and the threat has passed yet you still feel your heart pounding in your chest and it takes several minutes to slow your breath down. You feel muscle twitches and your shoulder muscles are tight. You may notice that you have a headache or you go into road rage and spend several minutes expressing your shock and anger. The threat has passed, maybe as long as 5 minutes ago yet you remain locked in defense.

When you arrive home, you relive the entire experience with your spouse and experience the same physical reactions just as though it is happening in present time. Your mind and body lock into defense and it affects you physically because defense affects the entire body. That night you may have a nightmare about the incident again, which affects you yet again. The next day, you share the story with your friends at work yet again and back into defense you go. You notice the pain in your shoulders and the headache again. This is how defense can become a health issue that can affect you for many years and lead to advanced degeneration, illness and disease.

Defense is resistance, rigidity, evasive movement and reactive behavior. I was watching the news one night and the story was about kids getting flu shots in school. Some of the kids were trying hard to be brave, while others were visibly in agony. Both kids were in defense. The difference is how they controlled their reaction. We cannot turn off defense because it is hard wired into our system. We can however, learn how not to lock into defense and remain in defense against everything in the environment.

Defense that causes tension patterns originate in the cognitive mind. They are illusions of pending doom. Taken to an extreme, these are phobias or obsessions. If you have a phobia, or know of someone that has a phobia, you know how incapacitating they can be. I am afraid of heights. This is a true phobia and once I start to feel the anxiety, I know what to expect and that the only way to get out of the feeling is to get to a safe place. A phobia is an idea coupled with an emotion. Fear is a very strong emotion. It causes all kinds of physical reactions and metabolic shifts. It’s more than nervousness or unsteadiness. This is gut churning, panting, sweaty terror.

Imagine what would happen to you physically if you were stressed about job performance or you had an overbearing, micromanaging boss that intimidated you? People have developed ulcers and reflux under these circumstances. Also high blood pressure, migraines, aches and pains, frequent colds, all signs of stress indeed but the effects of defense on the body because stress causes defense.

Remember that defense is a reaction to a perceived danger or threat. In other words, the illusion of danger carries just as much defense power as a true threat. Let’s take another extreme example; a paranoid schizophrenic. This person has created so many illusions of terror and doom that he can no longer separate reality from illusion. His brain is locked in fear.

I have given you 2 examples right out of the loony bin but Symphony is not designed to treat mental illness. But take these examples and tone them down a couple of notches and you will find everyday behaviors performed by regular people. These moderate cases are passed off as quirky individuals but realize that these people suffer the same physical effects of defense as their psychopathic counterparts. Let’s take for example a person who is afraid of rats or furry rodents in general. This person will experience the same mind locking fear that a psychopath goes through when stimulated. The difference is that the normal person is able to control his behavior and can eventually unlock his brain, snap out of the terror and regain his composure.

Take this down one step further to the school teacher with a young family placed on furlough and a 15% cut in pay that has a mortgage and bills to pay. This person is feeling the stress as the purse strings tighten but, being a good soldier, trudges forward without complaint and continues to do his job even though he knows that he will not be able to make his bills. This person feels the same physical effects of defense but it is less intense and longer lasting. First he experiences a little trouble getting to sleep or sleeping peacefully through the night. Then his blood pressure starts to rise. He develops migraines and becomes more irritable and less tolerant, especially to those near to him. His fatigue begins to affect his off time and he no longer seeks recreation time with his family and tells them to forget any vacation plans this year. He continually searches for ways to stretch his dollar and look for things that he can do to fix the problem only to realize that he is not doing anything wrong, he is just a victim of circumstances. He reflects on his role as husband, father and family provider and realizes that he has failed at all of these roles. We all agree that this person is under stress and feel bad for this poor guy.

I take it one step further and look at the effects on his body as defense. When the body and mind are locked in defense, the person is unable to think creatively or solve problems. The best thing that you can do for this person is unlock his mind and body from defense and then let him create solutions that protect his dignity and allow him to care for his responsibilities.

Symphony is not about learning new secrets or tricks. It is about recognizing the gifts and talents that already exist and using them to help others realize their gifts and talents as well. In developing Symphony, my focus has not been to reinvent the wheel but rather to show you how to use the wheel in ways never before imagined.

Defense is a cascade of physiological changes that are initiated in response to danger. For example, when you are startled, you feel muscles twitch and flinch. Your breath and heart rate increase, your face flushes and your stomach knots up. All of these defensive reactions are controlled by the Sympathetic Nervous System. Once the threat or danger has passed, these reflexes stop and balance is restored.

Defense becomes an issue when the mind and emotion gets involved in the event. The mind will replay the incident over and over again and attach emotions to make the event bigger and more significant.  When the mind gets stuck in defense, it results in tension patterns, stress and fatigue.

Let’s say you are involved in a near miss incident on the highway, someone cut you off and almost sent you into the guardrail. At the moment, you are startled, you notice white knuckles on the steering wheel, you are panting and sweating, your heart is racing and you are shaking. Fortunately, it was a near miss and after a few minutes you regain your composure and are able to make it home. Once you get into the house, you share the story with your spouse and notice that you are experiencing the exact same physical reactions again. The next day, you share the story again with a co-worker and you experience the incident yet again. Your body is being triggered by the same defense each time you retell the story. The body responds to this because the mind is triggering defense.

Another way to trigger defense is through imagined threats. Let’s say that you have a stressful job with a demanding boss that is continually changing plans and giving orders. You are totally frustrated and flabbergasted. To make matters worse, you are a new hire on 90 day probation period. This kind of pressure would trigger defense that does not go away. You may experience restless nights, loss of appetite and headaches. These are defense held in place by the mind that leads you to become ill.

The Sympathetic Nervous System does not evaluate danger; it merely reacts to it without thought or rationalization. Defense takes lots of energy and consumes lots of nutrient reserves. The primary illness of defense is fatigue, which leads to advanced aging and degeneration. High blood pressure, circulation problems, ulcers, digestive problems, insomnia depression and anxiety are the result of defense.

Universal life force energy is the topic of this discussion. Today we refer to it simply as energy because it is just simpler but many continue to distinguish between Ki, Chi, Spirit, Mana, internal fire, vital light force energy, and a host of other names. I have found the differences are miniscule at best and primarily the result of cultural differences. Energy is energy; we know what we are talking about. It is the difference between life and death. Living things possess life force energy dead beings lack life force energy. Objects that were once animate, such as tree limbs or rocks, are able to conduct life force energy but cannot generate it.

Energy is about movement. It takes movement to generate energy and energy generates movement. The smallest unit of matter is the atom and consists of an electron that orbits about a nucleus. This orbit generates the energy that enlivens the atom. So it is with the universe and every living thing that exists in the universe. Humans are a microscopic representation of the macroscopic universe and likewise, a macroscopic representation of the microscopic universe. The point is that we were designed to be in motion, not static. The universe does not like stagnation. When things are static, they fester and deteriorate. Stagnation is common to all deterioration and degeneration. In humans, this stagnation may be in the circulation of blood and lymph but fundamental to that is stagnation of energy. Acupuncturists often talk about blockage or gates that prevent the energy to flow in the meridians. When the energy stagnates, it causes an excess on one side and a deficiency on the other.

The first principle that I learned was Yin and Yang. This was an easy concept for the Western trained mind to accept because it seemed to describe a dualistic universe. Yin and Yang were like good and bad, black and white, hot and cold. The difference was that too much good led to bad, in other words, there is a continuum of effect, not a dualism of right and wrong. Now this concept flies right in the face of Western thought, which says if a little is good, then more is better. The Easterner understood the idea of moderation and to err on the side of less rather than more. Westerners, on the other hand, live for bigger and better, super size. Most people that I talk to think that they understand yon and Yang if their partner is opposite of them in personality; he is the aggressive one, she is the passive one, he is creative, she is practical. I suppose that there is a sense of balance in this example.

The next principle is cycles and rhythms. We have a biological clock. Women understand this better than men because they have direct experience with their monthly cycles. They have learned over the years that their body goes through a time of building and a time of degradation. We have eating and rest cycles. Most of us fare better when we stick to a regimented schedule of meals and rest time. Disrupting these cycles causes some distress. We also have monthly, seasonal and annual cycles. I remember in my younger years that I would catch a cold about the same time every year. I never knew why that was so but it seemed be fairly consistent.

Healing is a process, not an event. Healing is the process of balancing energy fields and integrating energy fields so that they function synergistically. The effects of healing are observed in the body language of the client or patient. She should be more relaxed, happier, lighter, more colorful and more pleasant. Integrating energy fields lifts the body so that it is not so solid or resistant to the environment.

Healing should not be confused with curing. Curing implies fixing, as in curing an infection or finding the cure for a disease like cancer or AIDS. Curing is the business of Western Medicine and it has a definite place in the scheme of things. Most people wait until their body fails before they seek help or care. When failure is an issue, oftentimes heroic measures such as curing is the only option available. Either cure or die. Fortunately, there is a huge space between health and crisis and now that you know healing is available, you can choose to take advantage of this form of wellness and prevention that we call energy healing.

I have had to deal with chronic pain and degenerative effects of rheumatoid arthritis for many years. The diagnosis was made in 1992. My initial reaction was typical; I went through the emotions of shame and blame and regret that makes people feel like victims. Why do I have to suffer like this? What could I take to make it all go away? Would I get a second chance? What am I going to do now? Will I be able to continue to work and how will I support my family?

Our culture teaches us to be afraid of illness, disease and aging. We are taught that aging is about degeneration, misery and despair, yet we are encouraged to live a long life. We are convinced to be afraid of cholesterol, blood pressure, cancer and stroke, especially if you are over fifty. These issues take precedence over joy, creativity and imagination, the essence of living that seems to be a privilege of youth, not adults or the elderly.

I was determined not to be a victim of this condition and I was going to look upon this experience as an opportunity to learn and grow.  How would I manage this condition as a Chiropractor?  What would I tell myself if I were my patient?

The medical treatment for my condition is steroids, pain medication and immunosuppressant drugs. My training in natural healing and Chiropractic taught me that there is no physiological or metabolic need for these substances and my body cannot derive the resources that it needs to refresh and renew from these chemicals.

In 1993, I met Dr. Dick Versendaal, a Chiropractor from Michigan who practiced CRA (Contact Reflex Analysis) and taught Clinical Nutrition. He spoke about treating chronic and degenerative diseases like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and lupus with nutritional supplements, diet, rest, exercise and moderate living. He taught me that disease and illness occur when the body is depleted of its nutrient reserves.

The objective of clinical nutrition is to replenish the nutrient reserves so that the body can repair and rejuvenate. Whole food concentrates, like those made by Standard Process, enabled me to accomplish this. Before meeting Dr. Versendaal, I did not have much respect for nutritionists, nor did I have much faith in vitamins and minerals.  Dr. Versendaal taught me that individuals have individual needs and you have to treat the patient, not the diagnosis.  In Western medicine a diagnosis describes a disease. In clinical nutrition it does not make sense to align a product to a diagnosis because we are not treating a disease; we are nurturing health.

This was a turning point in my career as a healer. In Chiropractic school, the science of Western Medicine is given greater importance than the art of healing because it is the standard of healthcare in this country. As a physician, you learn about diseases and how to treat them because disease kills people. As a healer you must learn to listen to the body and respond to its needs so that the body can repair and renew itself like it was designed to by nature.

The art of energy healing has been preserved in Asia and various Eastern countries. It is integration of energy on the physical, psychic and intuitive levels. It concerns itself with the restoration of balance and harmony rather than the progression of disease. In our culture, it is best described as Holistic Healing. Energy healing enables me to expand the consciousness of my patients, which shifts their perspective of life and living. Light brings hope and stimulates the imagination, which inspires vitality, recovery and healing.

I began studying Eastern healing and Chinese medicine in 1998. The perspective is different from Western medicine. Eastern healers look at the human body as a microcosm of nature and the greater universe. They explain health and life cycle in terms that are readily observed in nature. They see illness and disease as the logical result of imbalance, deficiency or excess. The remedies come from nature and are designed to restore harmony, balance and resonance. This was like learning a new language. This study transformed my approach as a doctor from force to grace. Western medicine is force; it forces the body to respond. Eastern medicine is about grace; allowing the body to respond as nature designed it to.

The experience of being sick led me in a new direction and has formed me into the healer that I am today. I have developed several strong beliefs that are the basis of my practice today.

• I believe that we were not created to be sick. Illness and disease are the result of abuse and neglect and serve as motivators to change your lifestyle.
• Our bodies were designed to express the nature of the spirit. The nature of the spirit is joyful and creative.
• Our mind is created to record the experience of life and reflect upon its significance. When filled with fear, the mind limits expression and suppresses the spirit.