Network Wellness Charlotte

Awesome article by Dr. Dan Siegel on the power of focus to change our brains.

This is why NSA and SRI are so powerful in literally upgrading your nervous system. They are the technology that leverages this research into a working model.

The last two decades have produced more research on the brain and brain technologies than all past years put together.

Much of this new information dramatically changes how we view the brain, revealing mental and emotional capacities that, once we discover how to use them, can be lifelong assets with which we may create positive change to our brains … and do so consciously … in the direction of our highest aspirations.

That’s good news.

In addition to your brain being responsive to change throughout life, it means you can also consciously alter its structure by the particular focus of your attention.

Let’s explore how this may be significant to you and your relationships.

When you change your focus, your thoughts change.

Your attention, when applied consciously to make the specific changes you want, can be a powerful tool of healing and transformative action. How?

* The thoughts you focus on inside expand to create a particular worldview of life around you.

Your thoughts create images in your mind that your entire body responds to accordingly. A focus on what you want or how you have overcome obstacles in the past, for example, is going to produce completely different chemical reactions inside you from a focus on what you lack or how your loved have not met your expectations.

It is estimated that you have about 60,000 thoughts a day. Many of these subconscious stirrings, by the way, are remnants of what you picked up in childhood experiences. Though you may not be aware of this inner stream of thoughts, you can be once you focus your attention on becoming aware of your “self-talk.”

* A different focus shifts the thoughts and images in your mind.

Your beliefs are perceptions that interpret the events in your life. When you shift your perceptions inside, your outward behaviors change, as does the physiology of your entire body.

The moment you see or hear of a person who is successful at something you aspire to achieve, such as, for example, a trim-healthy body, a prosperous business or a great mutually enriching love relationship, etc., what thoughts automatically fire inside your mind?

If you’ve achieved a measure of success in a certain area, your brain most likely produces positive thoughts, such as “I wonder how much work and passion went into their success?” In contrast, if it’s an area you’ve struggled with for some time, or even worse seemingly “always,” you are likely to automatically think some negative thoughts, such as, “When will I ever … so and so?” or “Why does he get all the breaks?” or ”I hate her, her success annoys me.”

No doubt, these thought patterns produce drastically different behavior patterns.

These subconscious exchanges between you and life around you are potentially life changing … and the more aware you become of even minor inner changes you are making, the more you notice their, at times, miracle-making effect on others and life around you.

When neurons fire together, accordingly, they rewire in patterned ways.

As is often said in neuroscience since the late 1990s, neurons that “fire together, wire together.” When a pair of neurons fire at the same time, they build an association or connection between them.

* This is what happens whenever learning takes place.

Whenever you learn something new, a new grouping of cells comes together to form neural associations between them. If you learn something new, it is because either old or new neurons are wiring together in new ways. When you hear certain words or see certain images around you, and respond to what you see and hear in different ways, for example, your brain automatically forms new associations. With repetition or practice, these connections thicken and strengthen, meaning the behavioral response is more likely to be repeated.

* This, by the way, is how you learned all of what you know, even how to walk, run and ride a bike.

Even prior to birth, your brain began processes of structuring neurons in certain patterns, wiring and rewiring neurons together to form set pathways that permitted the essential transmission of these chemical and electrical messages throughout the neural network of your body. As you can imagine, most of this learning happens subconsciously, that is, without a lot of conscious thinking on your part.

When you apply focused attention to these processes, however, you get to actually choose the specific changes you want to make to your brain. This key finding in the field of neuroscience is discussed by several experts in the field, for example:

The power to direct our attention has within it the power to shape our brain’s firing patterns, as well as the power to shape the architecture of the brain itself. ~ DANIEL L. SIEGEL, M.D.

In short, practicing a new way of responding to or thinking about an old issue causes neurons to fire together in different ways, forming new connections, perhaps new neurons.

New learning occurs as new cells and connections between cells are formed. Though events and experiences may alter the structure of your brain, new learning and connections largely depend upon how you respond to events around you, rather than the actual events themselves. If your brain is in a protective mode, such as may occur, for example, when you or someone criticizes you, your body turns off the brain’s learning mode. (You know all those lectures you’ve heard or given? They were a waste of time and energy.)

You are always in the process of becoming what you are most thinking. Thoughts shape your actions. You become what you do. Let your brain work for you with optimal efficiency by discovering the power of consciously focusing your attention.

How is it possible for attention to produce structural changes in the brain? This will be the topic of Part 2 of this post.

In the meantime, remember:

“What we are today comes from out thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.” ~ BUDDHA

Are you conscious of your thoughts?

RESOURCES

Cozolino, Louis (2002). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain. NY: W. W. Norton.

Siegel, Daniel J. (1999). The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are. NY: Guilford Press.

When you feel connected to and in harmony with the universal mind of intention, you’ll sense a major difference in how other people react to you. These reactions are important because they bear directly on your ability to fulfill your own individual intentions, your goals and dreams. The more closely you resonate with the frequencies of the universal all-creating Source, the more others will be impacted. They’ll gravitate toward you, bringing peace, joy, love, beauty, and abundance into your life. Here, in my opinion, are some of the ways in which you’ll impact others when you’re resonating with intention:

Your presence instills calmness.

When you coincide with intention, your impact on others has a calming influence. People tend to feel more at peace, less threatened, and more at ease. The power of intention is the power of love and receptivity. It asks nothing of anyone, it judges no one, and it encourages others to be free to be themselves. As people feel calmer in your presence, they’re inclined to feel safe, by virtue of the energy frequencies that you radiate. Their feelings are encouraged by your energy of love and receptivity, causing them to want to reach out and be with you.

Your presence leaves others feeling energized.

When you bring the frequencies of intention into the presence of others, they’ll feel energized just by being in your immediate circle. You don’t have to say a word. You don’t have to act in any prescribed fashion. Your energy of intention alone will make others in your field feel as if they’ve mysteriously been empowered. They’ll want to assist you in fulfilling your own dreams.

Your presence allows others to feel better about themselves.

Have you ever noticed when you’re in the presence of certain people that you feel better about yourself? Their compassionate energy has the noticeably pleasant impact of simply making you feel really good about yourself. You’ll impact others with this energy of compassion as you develop your connection to intention. People will sense that you care about them, understand them, and are interested in them as unique individuals.

Your presence allows others to feel unified.

The effect of being in the presence of people expressing high frequencies is to feel unified and connected to all of nature, all of humankind, and to intention. As you raise your frequencies, your impact on others invites them to be on the same team. You are unified and want to assist each other in the fulfillment of a common objective.

Your presence instills a sense of purpose.

When you’re in the higher spiritual energies, your presence and behavior from a space of love, acceptance, nonjudgment, and kindness becomes a catalyst for others to feel on purpose in their lives. By staying at the higher energies of optimism, forgiveness, understanding, reverence for Spirit, creativity, serenity, and bliss, you radiate this energy. The people around you begin to feel your quiet reverence and serenity. Your own purpose, which revolves around serving others and therefore serving God, becomes fulfilled, and as a bonus, you create allies.

Your presence allows others to trust in authentic personal connections.

By bringing the traits of intention to others, you allow trust to be present. You’ll notice both an inclination and a willingness on the part of others to open up and confide in you. This is related to the quality of trust. In the atmosphere of higher energy, people trust and want to share their personal stories with you.

Your presence inspires others to greatness.

When you’re connected to Spirit and quietly reflect this consciousness, you become a source of inspiration to others. In a sense, this is one of the most powerful effects that connecting to intention transmits to others. The word inspiration means “in-spirit.” The fact that you’re primarily in-spirit means that you inspire rather than inform with your
presence.

Your presence aligns others with beauty.

When you’re connected to intention, you see beauty everywhere and in everything because you’re radiating the quality of beauty. Your perceptual world changes dramatically. At the higher energy of intent, you see beauty in everyone, young or old, rich or poor, dark or light, with no distinctions. Everything is perceived from a perspective of appreciation rather than judgment. As you bring this feeling of
beauty appreciation to the presence of others, people are inclined to see themselves as you see them. They feel attractive and better about themselves. When people feel beautiful, they act in beautiful ways.

Your presence instills health rather than sickness.

Your connection to your Source keeps you focused on what you intend to manifest into your life, with no energy given to what you don’t want. This internal focus doesn’t permit you to complain about what ails you or to think about disease, pain, or any physical difficulties. Your energy is always on creating love, and expanding the perfection from which you originated.

Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. Wayne holds a doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University and was an associate professor at St. John’s University in New York. Visit: www.DrWayneDyer.com.

Hey Charlotte tribe: This is a great adaptation of my Friend Brian Johnson’s 10 Keys of Optimal Living. I have adapted them from my perspective. For more info on Brian Johnson, go http://www.OptimalLiving101.com. He is incredible and his Philosophers Notes are amazing. Highly recommended.

The 10 Principles of Optimal Living

1. Optimism. If we can’t tame that crazy, drunk monkey in our mind and shape the contents of our consciousness, nothing else matters. Period. This requires daily practices that *cultivate* optimism. And do you know what? Your human nervous system is the regulator of that. If its carrying a sack of undigested stress from 1976, try as you might optimism will feel elusive. Clean your life up, clean your body up. Clean your spine up. It makes it so much easier

2. Purpose. What inspires you? What’s your dharma? Your purpose? Your highest calling? Living an authentically awesome life requires creating an empowering vision and keeping your eye on your Highest Goal without losing yourself on a manic Holy Grail chase. What happens in Network Care is that you get to literally discover, develop, and awaken the most optimized version of yourself. What this really means is that when you find your purpose, its coming from your depth and authenticity. Not what you think it is supposed to be. Not what your culture tells is to be. But what your heart tells you is true. When you do this, you’ll find stores of energy and passion you never thought possible. That is wellness.

3. Self-Awareness. From the Oracle of Delphi and the Buddha to modern science, it’s clear: We’ve gotta know ourselves. How well do you know thyself? Do we have tools that scientifically cultivate presence of mind? Our work at NSA literally changes the architecture of the brain. Your Self-awareness allows you to completely upgrade your brain. To create new neural networks of growth, possibility, compassion, health, vitality, vigor, and joy.

4. Goals. Whether it’s meditating first thing tomorrow morning or starting your business (or family or painting or…), we’ve gotta have goals that inspire us. And what is so cool as that as NSA care progresses you get body mind tools that can help you more in 5 minutes to step up to your goals than an entire weekend seminar on goals. We can all make goals….its the actions to follow that are the tipping point. And this takes energy, focus, courage, and a connection to yourself. Stages 3, 4, 5, 6 of the 12 stages model are like jet fuel for your goals.

5. Action. All that’s nice, but we’ve gotta follow Guru Nike’s advice and *Just Do It!* Are you just doing it or just talking about it? And when we keep dropping our standards, do we have efficient tools to find out what is blocking us? Yes, we do. That is what our work at NWCC is all about.

6. Energy. We’re gonna have a hard time reaching our potential if we have a hard time getting out of bed or getting out of debt. Are you honoring the simple fundamentals of nutrition/exercise/rejuvenation/ money? The 5 energetic intelligences, the triad of change, entrainments, and somato respiratory integration bump your energy BIG TIME. Then we add the use of superfoods to charge you with pure life energy.

7. Wisdom. Wisdom is all about approaching life as our classroom and looking at every moment as another opportunity to live our ideals. Wisdom is practice. Practice. Practice.

8. Courage. The word comes from the Latin word for “heart.” It’s the virtue that pumps blood to all the other virtues. Without it, none of this other stuff matters. How’s your courage pumping?

9. Love. Love, love, love. How’re your relationships? Are you studying love like you’d study a sport or a musical instrument or a language you want to master?

10. en*theos. God/Spirit/The Universe. Whatever you call the Force that beats our hearts and keeps the planets in line, it’s the center and circumference of everything. Connecting to it is a good idea. You plugged in? This is what Awaken care is all about in the advanced versions of our work at NWCC. It is a perfect adjunct to your existing prayer/meditation practices. Whether traditional religion, meditation, yoga, or anything else, Network was shown in a study to increase peoples sense of a “connection to spirit.” When we evolve the brain, we evolve our capacity for greater and greater depth in our spiritual path.

Dr. Matt Lyon, DC Charlotte NC Chiropractor

*Love and respect to my brother Brian Johnson for laying the foundation of this post.

Dr. Matt Lyon is a practitioner of Network Spinal Analysis, A Wellness Coach, and a consultant to over 20 companies.

At any given moment we are either expanding or we are contracting. We are growing or we shrinking. We are in growth or we are defense.

This is pretty powerful stuff because the direction of our life, our growth, our body, and our sense of internal well-being is completely up to us. We choose.

The universe can move in 2 directions: 1) enthalpy – it is growing, expanding, evolving, and moving outwards; or 2) Entropy – it shrinks, contracts, and moves backwards.

Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist who studied “self- actualizing people” stated that in any given moment we have 2 options – we can step forward into growth or we can retreat into safety. As you might imagine, self-actualizing people play full out choosing growth, healing, enthalpy, and that which may at first not seem safe but adds the greatest value to their life and to the world.

Robert Cooper, PhD writes in his book the other 90% about the research biologist Albert Szent-Gyoergyi. Old Albert was a smart dude – in fact he won TWO Nobel Prizes. He basically said defined Syntropy as the “innate desire and drive in all living matter to perfect itself. As Cooper says, “Every moment of our lives we are growing or dying – and it is largely a choice, not fate. Throughout its life cycle everyone of the body’s trillions of cells is driven to grow and improve its ability to use more of its innate YET UNTAPPED capacity…It turns conventional thinking upside down. As living cells- or as people – there is no staying the same. If we aim for the middle ground or for the status-quo its an illusion -beneath the surface whats happening is that we are actually dying, not growing. And the goal of a lifetime is continued growth, not adulthood.”

That is completely awesome. First it does indeed turn conventional thinking upside down, which I am always a fan of. Second, it is super empowering. One of the hallmark of the greatest sages, saints, and contributors to human kind is that they took 100% responsibility for everything in their life – 100%. And this basically says if we do that and CHOOSE growth, we can continually be growing, expanding, and evolving. We are a microcosm of the continued expansion and evolution of the cosmos.

If that is too esoteric for you, this basically states that our happiness and our ability to make a life of deep meaning and leave a living legacy for future generations means we have to choose to grow each day, every moment.

My spiritual teacher from India, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said once that the spiritual journey requires 2 things: 1) Authenticity and Intensity. Will you be intensely present, in this moment and consciously choose growth? Will you be fully authentic and take 100% responsibility. We may experience all kinds of challenges in our life, but I assure you this creates fertile ground for a life of celebration.

Network Spinal Analysis is so powerful because it basically fast tracks the growth and evolution of the human nervous system. It basically cranks up the wattage of the human nervous system and accesses the most evolved parts of our brain – the places in our body where this growth occurs effortlessly. No wonder why our research unequivocally showed that long term Network care improved happiness, quality of life, joy, relationships, and a deep internal feeling of well being. These are the “spill-over” effects of a nervous system hard wired to be in growth – to be SYNTROPY!

And this applies to anything in life. I had voices in me writing this article saying – “don’t write this. Who are you to write this?” So I had a choice. Do I retreat to what is safe and play small or do I choose to move into what is uncomfortable and choose growth? Its one thing to want to write a book yet every time you get to your blog you choke. Its a choice. I don’t need to talk about my inner child. I need to act now. I need to find that essence of Soul, that undying infinite Voice of creativity within, trust, start typing, and hit submit.

As Steve Jobs said (Apple CEO) said “Real Artists Ship.” That means that you get it done. If you have a dream you do it. We choose growth. We actually have no choice. Everything is constantly changing. Progress is what is optional.

Walking the Path of Mastery in Yoga, Healing and Life

Yoga, like any deep and authentic practice is really about our life. Its not so much about how flexible or inflexible you are. Its not about what style you practice (although some deeper traditions will cultivate this approach of mastery and others will not), nor is it about perfection. Like all meaningful things in life it is a practice. George Leonard, who was an Aikido Mastery and a grandfather of the Human Potential movement wrote, “the master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is one who is willing to try and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.”

Ultimately, the real priceless value is how it helps us integrate our life on every level off the mat. Yoga is rich with deep wisdom about the nature of mind, thought, emotion, the body, and spiritual awakening. Yet, unless these are lived “out there” and “off the mat” it has not become the masters path. And this is what, I believe we are all innately want: deeper connection, greater peace, the ability to transcend stress and circumstance, to make profound contribution to others, and to deeply experience love + community. All of this yoga offers when practiced as a path of mastery. Anything you do with heartfelt presence and commitment to mastery produces this.

When I was 16, I began intensely practicing meditation under the tutelage of a modern Zen Master. She told me the secret was to “practice, practice, practice”. I wanted more – some formula that could lead me to the peace and enlightenment I sought. Everything I was looking for was inherent in the process. Same idea with yoga – right here in Charlotte, right on the mat below your feet. Another of my teachers, Lama Surya Das, said on a retreat I was on with him – “Be on the spot, on the dot”. It is that merging point between between being playful and intentionally present. This creates massive power for transformation.

For that matter, the same applies to the path of your own personal healing. St. Thomas Aquinas said that a life devoted to healing is a good life. So become a master of your own healing. The formula for happiness is simple: Constant, never ending growth and soulful contribution to something much bigger than yourself. To do this effectively – day by day, on the spot, on the dot, requires an adoption of the masters path. Wow – how cool is that, your happiness lies in becoming masterful at your life.

Showing up is 80%. So show up. And commit to becoming a master and in doing so you awaken the sleeping giant within your own heart, the lotus awaiting to unfold and blossom. This is what a heartfelt practice of yoga is all about. This is what a heartfelt practice like Network Spinal Analysis is all about.

BY the way, I just came home from a yoga class. It was really hard. I wanted to quit several times. It was so hot. But I stayed with it, as I knew I wanted to write about the masters path. And that is where the rubber meets the road, or in this case, where my feet hit the mat.

“For the master, the rewards gained along the journey are fine, but they are not the main reason for the journey. Ultimately the master and the masters path are one.”

About Dr. Lyon: Dr. Lyon is a local Charlotte mind-body health wellness expert. Dr. Lyon has been practicing daily meditation for two decades and began teaching meditation to others at the age of 16. Using the principles he teaches, Dr. Lyon has helped clients in the United States and Europe to transform and awaken to a more meaningful, heathy and purposeful lives. He delivers workshops in the US and Europe.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”

~ Albert Einstein

I wrote this article back in 2009, but wanted to repost. Its a good way to see just what my take on a lot of things are – if you are looking for a Charlotte, NC chiropractor that shares your love of life and your deep desire for harmony of mind, body, and spirit on every level, likely you found the right place. In-Joy…..

I just walked along the beach, all alone, just me, the moon, the sea, crickets, sea grass, some dunes, and grace. There is nothing so intoxicating as moonlight on the ocean. Its magical for me. In a flash, it brings me Home – to a state beyond words, beyond space, and beyond time. And yet, its sweetness wants to share itself with you.

The moon – what is she? A grey, white rock in space, floating in absolute perfection, timing and rhythm. Driven by unseen forces, by an ever-present wisdom she beckons me into her bosom.

She sits there, and her beauty is simply the fact that she can reflect the Pure Light of the sun without condition. Her light is not her own, rather, it is the Great Sun. Like the great saint who merges completely with is Source and reflects on Love, the moon gracefully and effortlessly reflects pure light. In stillness and Silence, she looks at me.

She seduces the tides to change, her feminine power moves even the sea. Just being.

The moon’s job is simply to be herself, and in that she becomes one of the most beautiful things imaginable. Nothing to dress up, nothing to change, all she has to do is allow the Laws of the universe to guide her. The impulse of creation caresses her and lures her into perfect harmony. And she shines. She dances. She feeds me, my soul, hungry for a taste of the Limitless. For her there is nothing to become, for it is her being-ness that is the miracle.

In that magical moment, I get to catch her shining her light on the bay water. Light waves dancing on water waves…and me, this wave that has taken form to witness the Cosmic dance in action.

I watch the light dance on the waves and I merge with its sparkling beauty. Are we not just waves on the ocean as well? The wave could never be separate from the sea. Even if taken from the ocean by a cup, the water can never lose its identity, it can never be anything but sea water. Even that same water that evaporates and becomes rain that nourishes and forest miles away will eventually make it back to the sea. Are we not waves, too?

If we are waves, then our ocean is Love. If we are waves, then we can never be apart from Love, for that is What we Are. That is what is looking out our very eyes in this moment. Life may take us in many directions, and in our forgetfulness, we may think we separated from Love. How could it be? How could it happen? It cannot happen, for our very nature is Love. Just as the wave can never be anything but water, we can never be anything but Love. Does it make sense for a wave to spend its existence seeking water, ignorant that an infinite ocean lies just below it? Not likely.

Does it make sense, then, for us to spend our lives seeking for the very thing we are? Alone, with another, making love, feeling grief, working, dancing, struggling – we are still Love.

And the moon keeps dancing on the water. And now I am dancing, too. Crickets chirp. Waves crash. The moon shines in silence. The sea grass wiggles and winds with the winds. And the dunes, ever changing, comfort me.

Even in the greatest of storms, when the waves are whipped into white froth and foam, those waves might be tempted to think, “Oh shit, we are not water anymore. Look what the storm has done!” And yet that froth will also return to its Source, that which it really is, in due time. That froth can never been anything than that which it is. Its just whipped up ocean. But it is still ocean.

Wicked storms may whip us this way and that, and our very lives may at times feel like froth, and yet, we can never, ever, no matter what, be anything than Love. Our ocean of Origin is Love, and these wave forms that we are can never be anything but Love. As a Course In Miracles states, “Love Created me like Itself.” It also says, “God is but Love, therefore, so am I.” No matter what happens, no matter what we perceive, we can never be separate from Source. C’est impossible. Love soothes everything. Love heals all things. It is What We Are.

And the moon keeps shining. She keeps on being. She is going on being. Showing me how easy it all is.

Gratitude fills me – spontaneously and completely. A resonant Thank You fills me and vibrates every cell in my Being. Thank you moon. Thank you ocean. Thank you wind. Thank you heartbreak. Thank you Awareness. Thank you loss. Thank you pain. Thank you passion. Thank you infinte possibilities.

And heaven is somewhere I need to go? Hmmmmm, why do I feel like I am swimming in It right now? Even as I write this? Could it be, Heaven is here? Now?

And just a walk on the beach. Just my eyes looking out. Awareness observing Itself. That moon, that beautiful moon, simply reflecting the Source of Light.

And then, just when I feel it can’t get any more amazing, I realize I sit here on this tiny planet looking at one very tiny moon. I dance and move and rotate in a solar system with a billion planets and moons. And this Solar System dances in a Universe of Billions and Billions of other solar systems, each with billions and billions and billions of planets and moons. And I sit here, part of It All. Consciousness moving through to meet Itself. Awareness dancing with Itself. This reality is just God Dancing with Itself.

And the moon shines on the waves. Breath fills me. And I walk home. And I sit in front of a little Mac computer and love each of you through it.

The stars are out now. I can start to see the milky way. I am going back outside. May I bring you a drink of Heaven?

When I was a boy about 12 years old, my back hurt. I distinctly remember a whisper inside telling me to go see a chiropractor. Given that my father was a well-known Neuroscientist and Medical School Professor, I was certainly not exposed to natural healing or anything outside of the relative world of scientific materialism. There wasn’t a rational reason why that thought would have occurred. To me, it was that Innate Intelligence that we all share, that beautiful spark of Life shining through your eyes, speaking through the educated mind. In my case, Innate has often had to speak and work in spite of my educated mind.

I grew up reading my dad’s anatomy books and watching him write neuroanatomy textbooks. I’ll never forget When my father was teaching neurology at the Medical College at Northwestern University in Chicago. He came home with a tupperware cannister filled with a human brain. I was in kindergarten at the time. We dissected that brain, part by part, as he explained to me the marvels of the human nervous system. I also distinctly remember having to memorize all of the lobes of the brain that very day. A small fire had been lit – a deep connection to this thing called a nervous system. As a boy I also loved nature – its wisdom and perfection lured me. Its fantastic form pointed to an ineffable experience of the Formless. And a marriage between form and formless was brewing in my small boyish heart.

As I sat in that chiropractors office as a boy, I was deeply touched by the magic of it all. No shots, no needles, no medicines save the love emanating from that doctor of chiropractic and the power of Life coursing through every fiber of my being. There was no expansive and confusing jargon, no sexy pharmaceutical rep, and no grumpy and underpaid medical assistant. There was, however, a palpable field of healing. There was a fire, a crackle of connection to the natural rhythms of life. There was the unspoken ancient wisdom that Nature heals, that the Force that created the body, would heal the body, and that we were all part of this Field. Get this – The very intelligence that pulsated forth from the Big Bang was coursing through the very structure my dad had taught me about. This field was, and is, so immense, its actually hard to write about it. Its hard to talk about. It is the very Something staring out through my eyes and guiding my tapping fingers on this keyboard. It is the Essence of Life.

In that office, no kids were being drugged because they were different. They were not being put on mental Novacaine because they could not sit still, or probably because their parents were incapable of sitting with their own feelings. No endless antibiotics just because it was the thing to do. No vaccines just because junk science says so. Just Life. Served up over easy with a cup of bliss on the side.

This brain, this very spine of mine, this wild and fantastic nervous system was the conduit of Life, of Consciousness Itself, and I got to watch the dance in action. I got to dance the dance. I AM the dance. AND I knew at that moment my life was meant to dance this dance and to teach others the steps. That is why I am here. This is what I do. This is who I am. This is the eternal Mandala of my being.

There was an unwritten contract in that office that stated, “Your body is a powerful path to awakening. Listen to her. Take care of her. She will take you Home. You have everything you need.” The magic was happening through a pair of hands and a loving heart. My love for the human nervous system took a quantum leap that day and I knew without a doubt I had found my dharmic path on this planet.

In a deepest sense, in the most profound way, all of the True chiropractors I have had the great honor to work with have simply opened and prepared this vessel of the body for its fullest experience of Life, God, and the Kosmos. And in this magical instant is the most profound healing you could imagine. In in this moment of genesis, dis-ease is erased and Life proliferates. A lifetime of anchors rooted in stress, pain, and reactivity are severed and the magic of the Eternal now can shine through this beautiful nervous system. Woah, this beats pushing Ely Lily’s latest drug.

I am blessed. I truly believe that when we peel away the veil of events and circumstances, a clear and interconnected Divine Plan can be seen. The mystery of incarnation is not so difficult to see if “we have eyes to see and ears to hear.” I got the first glimpse of my unveiled Reality in that chiropractors office. Thanks, doc. Thank you, back pain.

When I was at that office, he had a plaque on his wall. On this plaque were the words of BJ Palmer – the son of the founder of Chiropratic DD Palmer. Its words resonate such timeless Truth. They completely blew me away when i was 12 years old reading them, and they blow me away right now as I post them here. I share them with great gratitude that I get to share in the great lineage of healers and wizards who are changing the world, one spine at a time.

Keep the fires burning. Burn ‘em bright. And people will come from miles away to see you burn and to be lit. Like a sweeping pandemic, let wellness ring from on high.

“I am a Chiropractor working with the sciences of the universe by turning on the life in man thru the art of adjustment.

I do not prescribe, treat or diagnose conditions. I use only my hands. I work with that ‘mysterious something’ which created my body from two cells. At a time prescribed aeons ago I was set in this body to experience. That cosmic power which created me, which also moves the seas, rotates the earth, directs the heavens, gives life, takes it away, is everything. And that power which set the universe in motion and created me did not abandon me when I became free of security of my earthly mothers’ womb. It is still with me and protects me as it moves all forms toward their final predestined goal; It is not mine to educatedly ask ‘why’ or ‘where’, but to innately live; and live to help my fellow creatures.

And with this Chiropractic adjustment I use all the power and energies moving this universe, to allow my fellow creatures the chance to live, free of disease. I wish nothing in return, only the chance to GIVE. I give with the only thing I have, LOVE. And I love all by removing that which interferes with 100% LIFE. I do not look to others for direction, I look within. I am a perfect expression of God living 24 hours each day for others – I am a PRINCIPLED CHIROPRACTOR.

There is really nothing about health that you don’t know deep down. I could write article after article about nutrition, about yoga, about stress reduction, about your nervous system. I could talk for hours about the amazing power of the body to heal itself. And about 50,000 other people are writing about the same thing. And I am bored most of the time with them, so I’d actually just be boring myself.

Because you already know, deep down, just what to do.

So what is the rub – what is the x factor in sustaining change? Is it a new supplement? The right diet? That one personal growth retreat where you’ll finally get it? Nope.

Its the pearl of great price, right in your heart – right in your soul.

When we feel the deep connection to that internal sense of wellness, passion, celebration of life – that ineffable internal compass of well-being we naturally choose the next right thing. Whether it is what we eat, what we think, what actions we take, or how we relate to others.

When we are in this zone of wellness the hardwired 14 Billion years of evolutionary knowledge kick in and we know just what to do.

The keystone, is congruence. Its congruence on every level. And it requires a deep desire to look ourselves and our lives deeply in the eyes and know that we deserve so much more than we typically allow ourselves to experience.

Life can, and in fact should be, effortless. It does not mean its not work. It means that it can be harmonious and congruent. And this is the greatest joy in life. This is living in depth.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. Having TMJ problems completely completely bites – pun intended.

When your jaw hurts because you have TMJ problems you notice it all the time, or at least a lot. Why – because to survive you have to eat, and to eat, you have to chew. And, its not just eating. If you unconsciously grind your teeth that will hurt, too. If you are stressed, you feel it. Like your feet, which you need every day, your TMJ tends to get worse over time, never better, unless you get some help.

So what causes TMJ? Anything! Any problems with the joint and the ligament + cartilagenous disc inside the joint itself (which is where your jawbone attaches to your skull) can cause mild to horrific pain. But what is really causing that? Where does that come from. There are lots of reasons…but here is one that I think is an 80%er – stress. Here are some other reasons: Car accidents, neck injuries, blunt trauma to the jaw, chronic muscle tightness in your neck and head, problems + imbalanced with your feet (yes you read that right), problems, misalignment and imbalances with yous pelvis + sacrum (yes, you read that right as well), uneven bite, grinding your teeth at night, feelings of overwhelm and anxiety, and lots more.

I’d say about 5-10% of TMJ problems need a serious and invasive intervention – meaning surgery. 90-95% of the time your BODY CAN HEAL ITSELF – so long as we get to the underlying cause and remove whatever is blocking your body from being in that self-healing homeostatic state. And that, dear friends, is 95% of the time stress. Not only is stress the cause of 80-85% of disease in America, it is the cause of chronic problems like TMJ and neck pain.

Stress causes our muscles to contract and our posture to adapt and contort. Basically, we tie our selves in a knot when our body + mind don’t have the tools to resolve its own stress and tension. Our posture changes dramatically. Even subtle changes in posture can cause pain – especially in the jaw. How the heck does that work? Simple – the top bones in your spine have a direct pulley system connecting it with the jaw (they are bands of connective tissue connecting your jaw to your vertebrae and the spinal cord itself). So, more stress, worse posture, more TMJ problems. Again, 90-95% of TMJ problems can be healed naturally.

What is so great about that is that if you can heal TMJ naturally by getting to a deeper cause, that means can also heal a whole lot more. I often see headaches, brain fog, memory problems, ADD, Allergies, Thyroid problems, a feeling of overwhelm, anxiety, trouble breathing deep, all improve when we start helping the underlying causes of TMJ. The body is amazing, when we can teach it to heal its own stress, it will move back into harmony and well-being. And that is so amazing because then we can naturally feel happier, more connected, more focused, have better relationships, and feel more creative. Best yet – we proved this with a landmark study at the University of California Irvine. 76% of a study group of 2818 people had improvements in physical pain like TMJ, but also had better stress management skills, felt happier, had less anxiety and depression, and had a much greater enjoyment of life.

So, the take home points are as follows. First, If you experience TMJ pain and problems, even if it has been around for a long time – it can heal. Second, know that the pain you are experiencing is simply your body saying, “Stop, Pay Attention, and Do Something Different.” ANYTIME we have pain that does not resolve on its own I can promise you there is stress that is not resolving.

Get help. I can help. Call us and set up an appointment to see how Gentle Network Chiropractic in Charlotte, NC can help you not only heal your pain, but totally improve the quality of your life.

To your health,

Dr. Matt Lyon

Wow. Meditation has been a huge part of my life for the last 20 years. Along with Network Care for my self, regular practice of Somato Respiratory Integration, a healthy diet, focused weight training, running a yoga practice, a healthy marriage, and a core group of supporters in my life it is BY FAR one of the most important things in my life.

Check this video out with the wild man Dr. Oz (Of Oprah Winfrey Fame). I really like his style and how right on he is. We either learn to master stress or it masters us. Check out the video and then I have some AMAZING news for JULY around this VERY TOPIC!

Now, Dr. Oz is endorsing Transcendental Meditation in this video. That is great, and TM is a great technique. Now, what is even cooler is that there is another technique which is a close brother technique to TM which was brought to the west by former TM practitioner and teacher, Dr. Deepak Chopra. He and David Simon, MD broke away from the TM movement for a number of reasons and combined the best parts of TM with a technique from India that is thousands of years old. Its effects are the same as TM. What I also love about it is that it is completely affordable to learn, requires NO change in your beliefs, lifestyle, no icky stuff with a a Guru – just a powerful life changing technique that can joyfully + easily be practiced. To learn TM now costs about $2500-$3000. And that is just the basic technique. The full “Primordial Sound” technique can be learned at a fraction of that cost.

So, the Good News!! I have been practicing a form of TM for about 20 years. I have partnered with the Chopra Center and will begin teaching this amazing, ancient, and powerful technique starting in July! Charlotte, NC now has an incredible resource with 2 decades of experience to teach meditation – best of all a bonafide technique with a massive research base behind it. Better yet, a technique that does not require any adherence to any philosophy, creed, dogma, or lifestyle. It simply helps bring you into the still center of your being where you can master the stress response – and in so doing feel happier, healthier, reverse the effects of stress, lose weight, heal chronic pain, depression, anxiety, ADD – while preventing all of the main killers in our society – Heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Stay tuned as we will begin an entire free workshop series on this. I hope my radical enthusiasm and excitement is poring off the screen! For the better part of 10 years I have been waiting for the right time and place to formally begin teaching people to meditate. That time is now, and this is the place.

I’ll be formally introducing this and opening our waiting list on February 24th! So very exciting.

If you are a Network Wellness practice member, this technique will help deepen your care immensely. If you are new to this work, the combination of Network Care + Stress busting practices like Primoridal Sound are scientifically proven to help you become happier, healthier, more vital, and more vibrant on every level.