A few weeks ago I was in Denver attending the annual Advanced Network technique seminar. In addition to it being a fantastic seminar I had the opportunity to be included in a hands-on group with some of the best and most experienced NSA doctors in the world.
Q:”Why are YOU successful?”
On the Sunday evening after the program ended I had dinner with a large group of doctors that included the most successful and influential in the network community. At one point during the meal, Dr. Pierre Bernier (my mentor) began asking us, “Why do you think you are successful?”
A: “Pain”
This conversation went back and forth for some time and it wasn’t until I replayed it in my mind later that each of us felt that something painful, uncomfortable, or fearful had played a large part in making us successful today. For one it was a sense of low self esteem throughout their lives. Another had always felt like an outcast. For others painful events or health challenges became their motivation to succeed.
So What?
This got me thinking about what we do in my office. People come to me every day asking for me to fix or relieve their pain. Honestly, I don’t care that much about their pain. Seriously.
Care MORE about the PERSON than the SYMPTOM
What I DO care about is the person with the pain. In reality, the fact that I don’t care that much about their pain allows me to care for them much more deeply – without the distraction of being fixated on their symptom or disease.
Why do I not care that much about their pain or symptom? Because I know – through my own experience and that of hundreds of others – that the pain, disease, or discomfort that they are experiencing may very well be the fuel and motivation that will create the greatest success, joy, fulfillment and contribution of their entire lives. What if any of those doctors I mentioned earlier (including me) had had their pain ‘fixed’ when it first arose? That’s right – no success and no contribution to others.
Now, for those of you getting ready to lynch me, allow me to be clear. I do not enjoy seeing people in pain. I also love to see people resolve their pain and diseases. I love it when I am a part of that process and help them to get there and this happens daily in my office. However, this only excites me if it is done in a way that they use the symptom to wake up, become more aware and improve the lives of themselves and others as a result of it. If they ‘fix’ their problem by lowering their awareness, putting themselves to sleep, or through various other distractions I have no interest.
We have been so culturally indoctrinated to think of pain and discomfort as ‘bad’ things needed to be ‘fixed’ that we don’t even think about our response to them. Do you really think that any phenomenon so central to everyone’s human condition can be bad?
The way I see it, pain is a calling. It is an opportunity to increase our awareness and sensitivity and to learn and create something new in our lives. It is also a guide that keeps us on track. Sure, there may be times when we need to treat it, but can’t we at least pay attention to its message first? We are all going to experience many types of pain in our lives and there is nothing anyone of us can do to prevent that. We might as well use it as a way to wake up, not go further into sleep.
The next time you have pain I invite you to look at it closely. Ask yourself how it could be a gift, an opportunity, or a guide. Regardless of what you choose to do afterward, you will start to flex new muscles that can lead you to a new destiny. We all know that how we handle adversity will say alot about the quality of our lives. It is no different with our health and how we handle its challenges.
If you would like to learn about how NSA and SRI can help to facilitate this process, join us at our upcoming workshop on Feb. 13th, 2012.
Thorin Gault, D.C.