I say it often, but what a difference perspective makes. For example, last night I went out to dinner at a restaurant in Chicago where I once worked as a cocktail waitress (a short lived experience).
Even though many years have passed, when I walked in I found that I suddenly and momentarily had access to the same emotions and had some of the same thoughts that I did at that time. In that naive version of reality, I recall assuming that the owners of the restaurant were making money hand over fist, and were certainly very wealthy (as I probably thought that anyone who owned a restaurant would be).
Looking at the place last night, from my present vantage point, it seemed hard to understand how they could even stay in business, what with all the expenses!
Ah, yes. The gift of perspective. Or as some might call it, “getting old.” 
I had several moments like this working with practice members at New Day this week when it occurred to me that sometimes I probably seem like the Wizard, or perhaps Glinda, from the Wizard of Oz. And not just because the experience of having your nervous system reprogram through Network Spinal Analysis can sometimes seem so magical and mysterious as to seem “wizardly” 
Does anyone remember the part of the movie, toward the end, when Dorothy discovers that Glinda had the answers all along, but didn’t tell her? Instead, Dorothy was expected to go on this crazy, dangerous, and often pointless seeming journey and figure it out on her own. The lines go something like this:
Dorothy: Oh, will you help me? Can you help me?
Glinda: You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.
Dorothy: I have?
Scarecrow: Then why didn’t you tell her before?
Glinda: She wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.
“Wouldn’t have believed me”?! I remember, even as a kid, being so annoyed and frustrated by this. What a jerk, that Glinda!
I want you to understand that when I am adjusting you, helping you through SRI breathwork, or otherwise interacting with you, I am not standing there with all the answers, just waiting for you to (finally) figure it out.
I’ve been the person on the adjusting table feeling misunderstood, frustrated, judged, and annoyed with my chiropractor (and recently!)
In fact, I remember a time in chiropractic school when I felt so upset and so judged by the person adjusting me (due to her simply telling me at the end of an adjustment on one occasion that I would feel more results in my body and life if I could get more aware of where in my body I felt the things I was feeling) that I vowed never to see her for care again and questioned whether I would continue learning to practice NSA.
And yet here I am, still in the game. And I am thankful for that experience and what it taught me about the work and what it feels like to be the one on the table, vulnerable and feeling alone.
You’re not alone. I’m here with you. And I’m not holding out on you. I really am doing my best to be present for you in every moment. I don’t have all the answers. But here’s what I do know:
- Your brain and body know how to heal and can heal
- We all need to feel it to heal it, and we all need to experience what we experience, until we need to have another experience
- Network Spinal happens to be a wonderful way to access that inner healing through the nervous system (not the only way), and an amazing practice and process to be in for not just health, but perspective and conscious awareness
Have a wonderful, wizardly week (haha!)! Your families and communities are grateful for you and the process you’re in, and I look forward to seeing you at your next visit.
