Passion and Purpose 101

In network care, a phase of tension we work with is a particular pattern of spinal tension involving the second vertebrae in the neck and the pelvis hooked together (they sort of bend sideways with each other). Look in your mirror...head bending sideways, shoulder low, pelvis up. Anyways, the consciousness with this pattern is associated with living your life that is NOT on your terms (what we call passionless plus purposeless (frowny face : (). When we are choosing a life that was designed by others (mother/father/grandparent/culture etc.) for instance, you should be an artist, you'd be good as an athlete, a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, and when this life is not authentic to your true nature and highest values, we lock our bodies up this way so we don't have to feel our "un-authenticity" and the sadness/anger/frustration associated with making choices based on others values, and not ours.

Let me simplify. When you are choosing a life, that was influenced and designed by other people's values, and not yours, you are forced to lock your body so you don't have to feel your own incongruence. Does that make any more sense?

Simplified again. Live your own life, choose a life of your highest values, and you will be most free. There that seems to be simple.

Although....most people don't pay close enough attention because I see this pattern very...very...very often. They stay with a job because it has pension, security, good hours, nice people, good pay etc. Except, no passion. Except, no purpose. And so they settle, settling in for a life of "okayness" and "good enoughness", all while living okayness till the death. Living without passion and purpose is death while living.

There are few things more exciting than watching a fellow human being on fire, lit up on life, excited to be alive, and following their dreams. We often sense this awe and wonder and excitement for others following their highest purpose and passion, and talk about them over coffee, and pack up our lunch and head back to our so-so positions we are think we have chosen to be in.

Am I saying this is wrong? Not quite, except for the fact that most of us spend over one third of our lifetime at work (approximately 30 full years of our 90 year life, the other 30 sleeping, and the other third doing other things.)

So here is my challenge. Start living with intentional passion and purpose outside of work as much as you can and light up your life that way. Make sure it's REALLY lighting up. Second, re-evaluate your position or job and make sure it is lighting you up, or if it is not, at least find a way to see how it is meeting your highest values and needs so you can have more gratitude for your current situation. With this approach, you are not on autopilot, just "showing up" for a paycheck. (maybe it puts food on your table or helps your child's education, or allows you spending money for your trips you love to take) Once you have full gratitude and love for how it is serving you in your life, then you have a clearer head and a more open heart to choose to stay or choose to follow another path, passion and purpose. You are making choices on your terms with full gratitude and love, and not making choices based on others' values and ideas of what your life should look like. This way you are fully engaged and fully present with an open heart and mind moving forward.

Exceptionally yours,

Dr. Steve

Big Girls Don't Cry

Originally recorded by the Four Seasons, the song, "Big girls don't cry" hit number 1 in 1962 and stayed there for almost 5 weeks. There are so many people that have heard this song, and sang that same chorus over and over and over again,....Why do I mention this? I'll get right to the point.

In working with hundreds of women and men with physical and emotional distress and feeling the bodies of human beings that have limited their emotional range, I see the ramifications of a culture that does not support expressing emotions and feelings. I literally can feel in the body, the effects of embodying the idea of "Big girls not crying." We have associated crying, from a very early age, with weakness. And who wants to be weak? In fact, when you see someone crying, we instantly say, "what's wrong?" as if in this "weakened state" something has to be wrong. Is weakness and wrongness at the centre of crying?

We may feel weak because when we are having a cry, we begin to explore the depths of our vulnerability. We suspend our ego, our sense of self, of who we think we are or who we should be. And for many, being vulnerable is being weak. And on the flip side, being vulnerable/surrendering is a stage 7 experience of healing which is the stage of healing that allows you to begin tap into a potential energy of CREATION!
So being vulnerable and surrendering are also code words for letting go. And all the gurus talk about letting go. And women consistently talk about letting things go.  Hmmm... a catch 22.

So instead of expressing and letting go, we stuff our feelings. And what we stuff, we lock up in our body. And as we lock up our body, we begin the process, or continue the process of disconnecting from our essence. We decrease our health, suppress our immune system, and fragment our mind.  Some of you will say that you speak your mind or talk it out, I am telling you that I have felt the bodies of people who claim to use this strategy, and in most, not all, but most cases, they are still talking about the same issue weeks and months later still having their buttons pushed. If talking worked, than you would say it once, and not have one urge to ever speak of it again. Maybe time to re-evaluate that strategy.

What does crying do? And why is it potentially important to cry when we really need to?
Crying helps to liberate stored energy, there is a sound generated that help you connect to yourself, it is a way for us to release neuological tension, and clears the mind, as well as connecting ourselves more to our core essence. Reflect how good it feels to have a good, deep cry. It is an act that clears out baggage, resets your breathing patterns, and initiates healing. I am not talking about a weepy, red eyed, one crocodile tear job. I am talking about a full boar, deep internal cleansing cry. The type of cry that would put howling wolves to shame. The type you used to do when you were just a little toddler. Not the type that gets you attention or gets others to feel sorry for you, no I am talking about the internal cry of reconnecting you to you! These may not happen often, but when they do, you will feel the effects of the release and resolution.

Take some time to discover if some of the pain, tension, or chronic patterns has a little swell of emotion behind it that needs to be connected to, expressed and released. Maybe just making a sound is enough. Maybe starting to make a sound will help you connect to a deeper sound and maybe into a deeper healing process. Maybe it will lead to a laugh or a cry.

BIG GIRLS DO CRY!

A Tip For Presence Right Now!

Take a look around you. Where are you giving half attentions? It's really easy to do, especially with those people that we take for granted. Our mind endlessly wanders our attention into "no-mans land" dreaming or thinking about abstract thoughts that have nothing to do with what is front of us. I know this has happened to me once or twice : ) over the years. What snaps us back into presence? It could be something physical like bumping your knee or twisting your ankle, it could be someone calling for your attention, it could be a phone ringing or a firetruck going by. Something brings us back into PTC or Present Time Consciousness. 

A key question is, where was I? Where was my mind wandering and why is that getting more attention than the very thing that is right in front of me? My actual reality is taking a back seat to some fantasy or illusion that is being created by my mind. Does my spouse, partner, cousin, friend, grandmother, or kids not deserve my up most attention, my PTC and why would I not want to be fully present with them?

Find novelty in situations to hold your presence.
It's easy to hold your attention with a novel interaction with someone who you haven't seen in years. But it's not so easy when you see them day in and day out. We need to be looking for novelty. Maybe it's a way they smile, or a giggle, or the way they move, or their sweetness, or something you haven't quite immersed yourself in lately.
Presence takes training. It takes a keen desire to bring greater awareness to your present situation. It takes a desire to want to change, blended with a gratitude and love to be present with who or what is right in front of your nose. Our brains are not wired for presence as our attention is being pulled in a thousand and one directions throughout the day. So this daily training often spills over to our relationship life, with challenges to maintain a focus and presence, as the mind wanders to wonder what else needs my attention. Again, especially with those who we take for granted. This is the work of PTC so good luck optimizing your relationships, presence and love for what is in front of you.

-Dr. Steve

Shooting for the Exceptional Life

May 8th 2014

Have you ever thought that there may be more to life? It's amazing; the appeal of the perfect scenario. The desire for something more, or better, or more exceptional. So often our perception leads us astray to think that life is supposed to be grander and greater, more peaceful or harmonious, more healthy or stronger or more fit, more abundant in relationships or finances, as we continue to strive, strive, strive for that which we don't have. This game that we play with ourselves is a bottomless pit of more wants and more desires. It's a never ending trap of chasing the perceived void of things missing in our life. Why do I say this?... What I find so often in my practice, as we start balancing and opening up the constricted brain and nervous system, is that there becomes this deep awareness, that everything is beautiful just as it is. That we find everything we want within a bodymind that we are looking to the outside for. More energy? Access that within you. More peace? It's there! More harmony? Look in the mirror. You see, so often what we are looking for on the outside, is already right there within us, waiting to be accessed at any moment. 

That moment of connecting to your inner rhythms, your breath, your body, your movements, is a moment of absolute presence with yourself, where the noise of the mind can cease, and where you can access new sources of available energy and resources. There is nothing else to chase, but watching, feeling and observing the dance of your bodymind. That is often more than enough to feel the satisfaction of what wholeness feels like in that moment. Wholeness insinuates that there is no void to be filled, no chasing, no further needs or wants. Everything is exceptional just as it is; a state of fullness. The more you connect with yourself, the more you are creating the neurological hardware and software that allows you to utilize the parts of your brain for presence, peace, inner harmony and wholeness. You don't have to create those things in your life, because they are already existing. You need to find them where they already exist, which is within you, not outside of you. They are not missing, they are just hidden.

This level of connection most often requires practice, as most of us have lived lives of busy bees, doing lots of stuff, and lacking this essential inner awareness and connection. Network Spinal Analysis is a tool we use to assist you rapidly to begin to upgrade the nervous system, so you can access more energy efficient states, and connect within 10-20 minutes, what would take some a weekend vacation away to achieve. Another strategy to access inner presence is a regular practice of giving thanks for what is already there in front of you. Practicing gratitude is essential, as we are consciously placing ourselves in a temporary state of fullness, wholeness, and in a state of abundance. There is no chasing the dangling carrot, instead, there is a divine presence around giving thanks and praise for that which we are already full with. Therefore, instead of chasing the exceptional life, what I am proposing is that we already acknowledge that life is exceptional in so many ways. So can you find within your daily life to be grateful for?

 Can you say thank you to yourself for being so exceptional?

Can you find the divine peace within?

Why I Won't Get Diagnosed....For Now

March 17th 2014 

A conversation with a colleague of mine, spurred on some interest and curiosity around the idea of a diagnosis from a doctor.So I though, "What if a diagnosis wasn't an option?"

"What if all labs, all diagnostic capabilities, all "diagnosticians", were wiped off the face of the earth? What if there was not one drug available to us? What if the slate was wiped clean? What would happen then?" These questions run through my head regularly...but I got to thinking, there would be some very interesting transformations that would take place.  My inquiry developed into a few answers I wanted to share. (Remember the Latin translation of diagnosis is di-"two"
agnosis-"to not know"  which translates into "two that don't know" ...hmmm
If we were solely responsible for our own health and well-being, with replying on zero outside influences, here are the upsides...

Well, when our bodies or minds became ill, we would have to become more resourceful.  We would need to voice our concerns, face fear, face the thought of fear of our own mortality, stop our way of being, clean up our bodies, connect with our emotions, evaluate our actions, look inside for answers, pay attention, touch our body, gain a new level of trust, develop patience, listen for whispers of insights, solve our own challenges, get in touch with reality, nurture ourselves, take time to rest, work through pain, stop life as we know it, connect with worry, psychoanalyze ourselves, express emotions like sound, laughter or crying, connect with the feeling of helplessness, hydrate ourselves, start fasting, access natural or mother nature's resources etc...

Those were some things I thought of, maybe you can think of more.  With these listed, it is a tremendous upside to being forced into a totally uncertain, scary world of "not knowing something", it can lead us into a world of transformation.
The downside is, maybe we die early.  But that goes into a totally different topic of being afraid to die.  The reason I mention this, is that the majority of diagnosed conditions are not life threatening.

The bottom line, is we would be forced to become more resourceful.  We would be forced to tap into ourselves regularly without giving our power away to others.  We would be forced to face our demons, our minds and bodies, and really travel inward to transform our situation.  And if we knew no one was there to bail us out, we would probably take better care of ourselves when we were feeling well.  We might take actions to maximize our health and well-being, and stay focused on building health and meeting essential needs.

We need to raise awareness as to what going for a "diagnosis" really does for us as humans. Most people will totally miss all the gifts I have talked about in the first paragraph, because a diagnosis makes them feel safe, and once they feel safe, they can keep on living the same, potentially unconscious and toxic life.

I would just love for you to evaluate how often you give your power away.  How often you engage in an activity, a doctor's visit, discuss a topic with someone for advice on a situation, or any tests in an attempt to diffuse the energy of discomfort and uncertainty.  Are there times when you do this so you don't have to "step up" to a challenge or focus on you; to essentially pay attention to what you need to focus on.

And what can you do to empower yourself when times are uncertain, scary or painful?  How could you stay within yourself and add more focus or ask better questions of yourself, or take different actions?

 To your Greater Awareness,

Dr. Steve 

What do you do to Disconnect?

In our efforts to become more congruent, authentic, and live inspired lives, we often still have little habits within our personalities that we do to disconnect from ourselves. I would encourage you to explore this with me. This is important to bring to your awareness, because when we are feeling like we are not enough, when we are feeling scared, or even angry, there are behaviours that we have formed that seemingly help us in the moment, but yet are disconnecting us from what we need to truly pay attention to.

Take eating for example. I find I will pick at food when I am disconnecting, or sometimes I will go and 'pretend' to myself that I am being productive at work, only to answer a few emails, and jot down a few ideas that really won't mean much in the long run. As I bring my unconscious to conscious awareness, I am then able to make more of an aware, conscious choice as to my actions so they become more congruent and authentic, instead of mindless and on autopilot.

Some people exercise like crazy in an effort to avoid not feeling worthless or fat or not enough. Some people don't eat any sugar, coffee, or "other nasties" because they are scared of what they might do, and become obsessive in that. How about Facebook, T.V., phone, emails....

Obviously there is a time to 'do' things, but most people are not taking enough time to just "be" with themselves and connect inward. I am mentioning this, because if we did spend more time inward, we continue to cultivate trust for our body, emotions, thoughts and feelings. When we cultivate trust, we become more resilient to people and circumstances around us.

Spending time inward is the time of self mastery...and since you only get one kick at the can, it may be valuable to further get to know yourself. So what is your hook up? What is the way you disconnect? At those little moments throughout the day, what actions are taking your attention away from the real you, and into some fantasy land. And why might we find these places more interesting than focusing on ourselves and finding the true joy in being an embodied spirit and feeling alive?

Hope this allows for new emerging awareness, and hopefully you can find new actions that are more congruent with what really is valuable and meaningful in your life.

Embracing a life of exceptional,

Dr. Steve

So now what?

"Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again."  Alex Tan

I have to share with you, that I have a very keen interest in where are heading for the new year. What is your focus? What is your theme? What are you working on? What are your interests? So often the entrainment is such a powerful process, that we don't necessarily take the time to discuss what some of your other needs or concerns are. We often stick to health or your inner well-being and the transformation of that, but I am also gaining curiosity into your other goals, dreams, and ambitions to see how Veressent Life can hold a space to have you achieve what you are looking for.

Instead of your ego picking the goals or dreams, let me ask you a different question. What have your rhythms been telling you? What has the energy around you been telling you that you need to refine or transform? Any areas of life that keep showing up that beckon your attention? What have you been meeting against, that needs further inquiry or strategies to make change? So often we pick things or goals that we think we want, yet life is leading us, right under our noses, to pay attention to something else.

So let's bypass the "lose 10-20 lbs, or start a regular fitness program or start eating better" resolution, and look deeper. We are Veressent Lifer's and we look deeper into our core nature and what life is trying to tell us. Look deeper into what is life presenting to you right now, that you need to dive in to.
What is it? What has your soul been calling you to wake up to? What clues is life leaving you that you must face now, with courage? Stop kidding yourself with the superficial goals that you think will make you happy, and extend yourself into what you KNOW needs to be looked after.

Please email me back over the next couple of days and share with me, what your life is showing you, that you need to be paying attention to. I can hardly wait!!

Thank you for an amazing year, so much gratitude and love to you all,

In deep well-being,


Dr. Steve

Gratitude "R" Us

Gratitude. How do we get it, experience it, and feel it?

It's one of those things that you remember that you forgot to do. It sometimes feels like one of those reflective traits that is so elusive in the moment, but then somehow you get reminded hours, days or months later. You may have been on a trip, in a park, at work or resting under a tree, and just forgot to truly smell the roses and be grateful for the moment. It's the mind that wanders away from the present and into the past or future. And once you are in the past or future, there is no gratitude to access for what you are experiencing in the moment because you are busy daydreaming about other things.

How do we be more grateful in the moment then? How can we improve upon the gratitude for the day, the people we interact with, or the events that are going on? Moment by moment? I have still not found a faster or more readily available way to access gratitude and presence in my day other than asking the question, "if this is the last time I am with this person, who would I be and how would I act?" or "if this is my last time experiencing this (ie. shower, car ride, walk etc.) let me fully experience it for all it has to offer." It is questions or statements like this that allow me to access a refined level of presence and therefore gratitude for what I am experiencing whether it be will people or just the "ongoings" of the day.  I remember one of my mentors saying that the quality of your life is dependent on the quality of questions you ask yourself. We become mindless, presentless, gratitudeless (made up words), when not focused on the moment, so we require a tool or a question that pulls us out from where are minds are wandering, and yank us quickly into the present moment. These questions or statements are tools to help us do just that.

if this is the last time...

So grateful to have my fingers tapping on the keyboard at this moment,

Dr. Steve

3 things I suck at

Who wants to play?

Since this month is about clarity, let me "clear the air" as to what I suck at and why this is a benefit to you
Ego aside, here are the three things I suck at:

I SUCK AT DIAGNOSING. I can give you an impression but I am pretty sure I cheated on my diagnostic tests or copied off of my roommate. Naming conditions couldn't be more of a yawner for me. The question of "what's wrong with me," puts a flash in my head of "here we go Stevie! Time to rock someones world!"  I would much prefer to have you self inquire and use that little resource called a brain, so you can actually discover and connect with what you are disconnected from. I will be the questions guy and hold the space for you to discover how you are judging and disconnecting from yourself, so you can actually FEEL MORE EMPOWERED TO TAKE YOUR HEALTH IN YOUR OWN HANDS as opposed to me naming something for you. If you want a label to identify with, my sincere apologies. My most common diagnosis and treatment plan;
"You are a crazy "nut bar", now let's create transformation!"  (At least that is the diagnosis I circled on my board exams)

I SUCK AT FIXING THINGS. Ask my wife, I don't do it well around the house, nor do I do it well in my office. Fixing things to me, which I had done for a few years after graduating, is for inanimate objects. Cars, walls, toys, shovels, etc. You are a human being with many fields of influence affecting your well-being and life. You are a constant changing and adapting species. Honouring this principle and knowing this, leaves me no other option to challenge the idea that a human being can be fixed. And if you feel as though you were fixed by someone, it really is only a temporary state of feeling certain, when you were feeling uncertain(temporarily pacified). And since there is so much healing beyond this, you will not see me jump for joy when someone says, "you fixed me doc!". Those words to me, mean, we got a lot of work still ahead!  You are not a car, and plus there is life beyond a fix it mentality. So much more! Ask a caterpillar to fix himself back to a caterpillar while he is transforming into a butterfly...Goofy thought isn't it. Take what you think you want fixed, AND USE THAT FRUSTRATION AND ANGER TO TRANSFORM YOUR HEALTH AND LIFE AND TO SET NEW STANDARDS FOR YOURSELF

I SUCK AT KEEPING PEOPLE THE SAME. My path in life has been to expand my awareness for continued growth and transformation. This, I pass on to you. One of the 6 needs of a human being is for growth and this is where my service comes in best. If you ready to MOVE BEYOND WHERE YOU ARE, then I'm your guy. If you want me to just be agreeable, go with what your story is, pacify you with an "I understand, let me help get rid of your problem so you can go back to life as usual", then you will be disappointed. People hire me consciously, or unconsciously, for CHANGE ON ALL PLANES OF EXISTENCE. I know that people don't enter into my life so they can be comfy and stay the same. Not my gig. But my gig is to NUDGE YOU TOWARD A MORE VITAL, HEALTHY, CLARITY AND A FULFILLED LIFE.

In summary

 What I suck at                                     
1) diagnosing                                          
2) fixing things                                         
3) keeping people the same                                                                         

What I am good at:
1) assessing/asking key questions/reframing perspectives
2) creating strategies in your body/brain for a better life
3) facilitating transformation

Hope this blog adds clarity to what I do, what I don't do well, and how I may be of service.

Anyone want to play?

With love,

Dr. Steve
P.S. I gladly accept the prize of worst marketing blog of all time.
P.S.S Pass this along please to those who ask you "what does he do there?"

Big or small vision?

Creating a large, flexible vision...not a small, rigid one.

The mind loves rules. That's its job. To set the boundaries for your life. And oh, how limited it can be.
Let me explain.
Since I am a practising chiropractor I see many types of people, with all sorts of 'conditions'. But having a conversation yesterday sparked my desire to share the idea of tapping into a new potential for yourself.
I was called to ask this woman why she was coming in for her visits. She hadn't been under care for long, maybe around 12 visits or so, but I wanted to see what she was valuing, what her intentions were, and what her motive for laying on my table was. Through her eyes, I was curious as to what was she hiring me to do? So she said that she would like to have her low back pain go away, and then keep it away, but there was definitely a lack of clarity as to what she was really doing there.

I was intrigued that she was going to limit herself to what she could accomplish for herself, so I asked a few questions as to what she had noticed to this point. She said she had noticed that her breathing was improving and that she was connecting to areas that were painful.

So I then asked if she was breathing more fully on a regular basis does she think she would manage stress better? She of course said yes. I said, if you are more connected to your body, learning how to move and breath with it, could you manage stress more effectively, and release more tension? Yes. If you could breath better, release more tension, you will be more flexible. If you were more flexible could you perform better at sports and heal faster and recover from injuries better? She said yes. I said, if you were to continue to master just those two, do you think you would manage work stress better? Yes. If you could breathe more fully and stay connected to you, do you think you could manage your stresses when your kids are crazy and their is chaos in the house? Yes. And so on.

So here is the craziness of healing. If she was to come in to my office right off the bat, and say, "I want to be a better mom, I want to maximize my athletic performance, I want to be a master at managing my stress, and I want to feel great and be excited about life."With this intention, she would start to have things align for that to happen. Her focus would be different, what she watched for would be different, her energy would move differently, and her experience of care in my office would be different. Even if we did exactly the same thing...how she received care would be different. If she set a bar low, she will eventually hit that bar. If she set the bar high, she will eventually hit that as well. Either way, she will eventually hit the bar. One approach will have her stay the same, minus her pain (which we call Restorative Therapeutics), and the other way is that she uses low back pain as a way to transform herself, her health and her life (Reorganizational Healing). The choice is ultimately hers. But first is to recognize that pain is not there to inconvenience her life. It is there to wake her up so she can make a change!
Now the timing will be unique for each individual, based on their history, their life, their utilization of their energy and mind, and their stage of healing they are in. But my job, in part, is to hold you to a bigger picture and larger vision for what is possible for you; to help you see what you currently cannot.
And then take action steps to begin the process of movement toward an upgraded version of you.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Where have standards for you been way too low?
Where have you minimized your efforts just to squeek by?
Where are you settling?
Where are you continuing to make excuses?
What would life look like in 3 years if I stayed this course and kept playing small?
How much pain would I feel by not stepping up to another level?

These are some questions in Stage 4 of the healing process...associating our past pain with inaction.
If you want to learn more about healing...I invite you to our next workshop called:
The Power to Heal.
Check our website for details
www.veressentlife.com

Happy Healing!
Dr. Steve

Don't pick your scabs!

A simple scab on my daughters face allowed me to reflect on what true healing is all about.

We've all done it. Ripped that frickin' scab off early because we just want it gone. And what happens every time we take a scab off before the time is right...more pain, more sensitivity, often more bloodshed and longer healing time.
Then we have to wait for the body to re-scab because of our impatience and judgements that we don't want it to be there. Maybe its ugly, maybe its itchy, maybe its annoying. But we just want it gone.

But under this scab, tremendous healing is taking place. Cellular repair, cleanup, immune responses, and new cell formation is taking place every second. It seems like the scab is so static, but yet, underneath, is an entire world of healing. And the key; when the healing is done, the scab falls off. As humans we might call this, "letting go." You can't force the healing, it just happens. You can't force the change, it just happens. You can't force the letting go, it just happens. If you force the scab off early, more pain and longer healing. The same goes for everything else.

There is a magnificent timing to all that is going on in our life.

Where are the scabs in your life that you are trying to rip off, or get rid of? Where are you trying to force things to happen instead of letting it flow? (Been there, done that..a million times : ))Where, in fact, do you require more patience, time and healing? Think of the new cells, immune system and clean up crew with the scab, as new people, circumstances, or places that you need to come across and experience in order for the scab of life to change or fall away. There is a timing and rhythm to life and healing, and the people you meet and the places you go each day can all be part of the process of healing the scabs of life. You won't be able to see the healing happening all the time. Sometimes, it's just below your awareness. But know, that under your scabs of life, lies an organizing field of intelligence that is working for you, not against you. Patience, time and healing. Pay close attention to who you meet, names that are mentioned, people you talk to. They may just be an integral part of your healing process.

As I have paid attention, people on average hear about me well over a year before they ever come to seek out my services. Then, when they do, they say, "wow this was easy, I wish I would have listened and come when I first heard about you." And I reply, "the timing was perfect. You weren't supposed to be here earlier."(usually they had to pull off their scabs a few more times before taking action)

Ultimately, the key to healing is to be with your experiences and place yourself in an environment that supports your healing. When you do that, you give yourself the best opportunity for most natural healing. Make the time. Maybe its with family or certain friends, here at Veressent Life, in a yoga studio, sitting with a great cup of tea...Find your place and space to explore healing, patience, rhythms and your transformation! Your entire being will be happy you chose to nurture yourself and your healing.

If your tired  of picking your scab over and over, and want some assistance in your healing, give me a call and we will see if we are good fit. 1-807-628-0718

Exceptionally yours,

Dr. Steve

Finally! I Heard the Magic Words!

I have to say I had a huge smile on my face Wednesday. A practice member of mine, who has been under care for six months and most recently threw out her antidepressant medication and has been transforming her life, made a statement that got me glowing inside. (if what was happening with her wasn't exciting enough!)

She began with the statement I so often hear, "I have a friend who is suffering with fibromyalgia, can you..." Now the typical knee jerk question would be if I could help her friend with her condition.

But then something magical took place. Before she said the word "help", she stopped herself, and said, "well, I guess it doesn't matter what she is experiencing, you can help her."

Instantly, I was elated! Not because she said I could help, but that she had the instant awareness that her friend was not separate from her condition; and because this practice member was experiencing more wholeness for herself, she had the awareness of wholeness!!
She knew the fibromyalgia changing was dependent on her friend choosing to heal on the inside, not healing the condition. And if her friend on some level can heal, than than the fibromyalgia would take care of itself.
And she put together that what we do here in reorganizational healing is not treat conditions, but help the person to heal on the inside.  SHE GETS IT and it was exciting to hear!!

Healing is healing. It doesn't matter what conditions or crisis or circumstance someone is in, anxiety, depression, pain, sciatica, headaches, fibromyalgia, etc. It is the person that requires further healing, not the condition.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, society does not support this thinking. We have a system in medicine that is similar to that of an automobile factory. You come in. Get your part diagnosed. Go see the specialist for that part. Wait a hell of a long time to see the "specialist", get your part fixed and on with life.

There is little recognition for healing the person, and having the whole person addressed. People still feel they need to be labelled, and aren't recognizing that THEY need healing, NOT the part. But I guess that is reserved for us to share!  :)))

So here is a healing tip;

If you have a part of you that seems like it is doing its own thing, off in "la-la land" or just not cooperating, invite it to come back in to the rest of you. Don't condemn it, judge it, ridicule it, or tell it to go away like everyone else does. Invite that part to play with the whole.
Some good questions are;
How can I better accept the part for what it is doing?
How can I breathe with the part, move with the part, so as to invite it to join the rest of me?
How can I dance with that which is uncomfortable or painful?
How can I stay with the pain or circumstance and just be with it without the need to change it?
How can I just let a part of me have a temper tantrum without judging it or getting obsessed about it?

It's not the part that needs to change, but your relationship with yourself, and your healing that requires change.

If you are a long-time member continuing to have difficulties healing, please talk with me, so we can gain greater perspective on what is going on.
Or if you know anyone who needs to hear this message, please forward it on to them, hopefully broadening their perspective on what healing is.Sincerely,

Dr. Steve

P.S. Healing is always an inside job, only to be fascilitated by someone else. No one can heal you, but you.

The Flu: Victim or Opportunity

I had written a blog in the summer about building our resources and not waiting to be in reactive mode come winter. As a summary of that blog, summer and fall are times to work hard at our health, be extremely active, eat "as always" nourishing foods, get plenty of rest when needed, and basically build our "bank account" full of health.  To create healthy internal states and tissues. Then, when winter hits, as less sunny days are there, as the cold sets in, as we begin to get into a more sluggish and contemplative mode, we can draw upon what we built from the summer and fall months....

So if you "got" the flu, or shall we say, if your body showed signs of not being so powerful, it is an opportunity to discover how you were being, thinking, behaving, managing stresses, eating, time managing, etc. during the summer and fall months.

So you still think that germs and viruses "get you?" You know, " I got the flu"

French scientist and "father" of the germ theory said, "the microbe in nothing..the terrain is everything." You are the terrain, meaning that it is your internal state that either supports or defends these critters. This coming from a guy who said germs cause disease.  This outdated model of health still dominates our medical systems school of thought, and this dogma continues to be supported culturally which we have all been indoctrinated to believe. (Dr. Steve rant). Anyways,   he went on also to say, "If I could live my life over again, I would devote it to proving that germs seek their natural habitat - unhealthy tissue - rather than being the CAUSE of unhealthy tissue." This is huge! This means that by treating our body like a temple and creating the most optimal and internal state possible, we live symbiotically with bacteria and viruses, which we have done for billions of years, without them overwhelming and dominating our terrain.  This is empowered health.

In my practice, with the people under regular Network Chiropractic Care, 85-90% of them lived symbiotically and harmoniously with the flu. (Notice how I am wording this : )). 15% of those that did allow the flu virus to dominate, recovered within 24 hours. Those 2-3% that took longer, have been under major stresses within the last 4-6 months, mostly involved directly with immediate family member concerns and worries. Less healthy tissue, longer recovery...it is that simple.

So if you did express the flu, use it as a learning experience, a time to discover how you used or abused your energy being over the last 6 months, and what you will discover will surely awaken you to the next exceptional version of you!

5 tips to change things for right now and next season:

1. Discover your internal stresses over the last 6 months
2. Discover your toxic behaviours, thoughts and state of being over the last 6 months
3.  Discover what aspects of life you have disempowered yourself
4. Transform one area of life that has seemed challenged or weighing you down
5.  Focus your energy on the transformation of this one area to fuel your energy and inspired   bodymind

Happy trailblazing!

Dr. Steve

letting go of the past

Think of the swinging trapeze artist for a moment. He is swinging on one swing, hands all chalked up and gripped tight, muscles bulging, body flexible, rocking and rolling in the air. You can see him building his momentum, the anticipation building from the crowd...
When you are watching him, are you excited that he is going to let go of the swing, or are you excited to see if he floats through the air and grabs on to the other swing? Is he building momentum to let go, or is he building up enough momentum and doing his calculations to ensure he has everything he needs to grab on to the other swing? You got it! Everything is about grabbing on to the other swing.
If they were just focused on letting go, they wouldn't be calculating, swinging their body, building up the energy and physical momentum, or getting their body and mind prepared. They would just let go. And as a spectator, how disappointing would it be to just see him let go of the swing...would we see that as a victory???? I think not.
But he is NOT focused on letting go. He is focused on what it is precisely going to take, the energy he will need, the momentum to perfection, to grab on to the future destination of the other swing in front of him. For him, letting go of the swing is a side-effect of having a clear destination and precisely enough energy, momentum and timing to grab on to his new future. The swing he is on was just a means to PROPEL him to his future! Now when he grabs on to the future...the crowd cheers!!
Get it yet?
You don't need to let go of your past. You can't. It is part of you. But you can accept that you experienced the pain, anger, fear, guilt or shame, and use that as a catalyst for you to redefine yourself, your life, your actions, so that becomes your new swing or your new focus. The past doesn't go away...but becomes irrelevant to your new level of thought, actions and focus. And you can then view your past as a gift to catapult you to the next greatest version of you. You can't shame or blame the past, if you view it as a gift.
Exceptional loving,
Dr. Steve
P.S. Let go of guilt or grab on to self worth?
Want to grab on to something new? Visit www.veressentlife.com

summer slacker?

Hey guys,
Just wanted to mention a quick word about summer being the best time to build your health and deepen your well-being. Summer classically is the time where our rhythms are designed to take action. Although we often associate summer with chillin' at the camp or cottage, bbq's, and relaxing by the pool, historically, summer is a time for harnessing our resources and taking MASSIVE, CONSISTENT AND DISCIPLINED action. Spring and summer are times where we plant seeds, weed, water, fertilize,..consistently...we should be out in the fields working our crops..why? Because when fall and winter hit, we will be able to reap, harvest and last through the winter. If you don't work now on building your health, you may find by the time winter hits, you are trying to play catch up with your health, and then it is too late. Flues, colds, sniffles, days off, more depressive days, less sunlight,..those do happen, but you can transform your health compared to others if you take smart, efficient action in summer.
Eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies. Lots of water. Plenty of outdoor activity. Keep up with your supplements..hours of hot sun can burn out your energy stores and they need to be replaced. Stay consistent with your entrainments, they assist in building a strong, healthy nervous system preparing you for life now and the winter months. Work the essentials for exceptional health with simplified, easy, but consistent action...YOUR ACTIONS NOW ARE PREPARING YOU FOR YOUR FUTURE!
Have an amazing, fun, and passionate summer!!
Dr. Steve
P.S. take up something new that is fun and will add an element of excitement to your life!

Questions = Actions = Outcomes

The quality of your life is dependant upon the quality of questions you ask. The questions you ask will immediately shift your physiology, posture, brain messengers, stress hormones, and emotions. Generally, if you are stuck in a life situation or circumstance, part of the challenge is the quality of the questions you are asking. To shift any situation to a different outcome, you must shift your questions.
When you have a health challenge, you have been culturally trained to ask, "what's wrong with me?",  "How can I fix this?", "How can I get rid of this?"...Those questions are three questions that will keep your body and brain in stress mode. In fact, say those outloud and see how they feel when you ask them. Yuck!
Now what if you asked, "How can I make the breakthrough?", "How can I never disempower myself again?",...can you feel your energy and posture lifting? : ).........What about, "What is really happening here?", or "What must I do NOW!?". Can you feel the difference!
The difference between those questions, is the first 3 forces you to rely on doctors to determine what is going on. The second batch of questions allows you to do more introspection to shift you and your life behaviours without any outside influence. If we would just focus on what we wanted and the action steps to get there, instead of spinning our wheels looking for outside answers, we would not only save months and years of unnecessary suffering, but we would feel and act in empowering ways.
What if you decided to NEVER ask those first 3 questions again....I did, and so can you.
You will feel so much more empowered and you will take action like never before! And watch your exceptional outcomes when you ask questions that force you to be resourceful, instead of relying on someone else to give you the answers. You will feel great.

unconditional love

There is no such thing as unconditional or conditional love.  Someone says, "well there aren't there different types of love?" No, there are not different types of love, there are different expressions of love. Passsionate love, compassionate love, empathetic love, maternal love, etc. So there are many different styles of expressing love. But love is love. Love is full. Love is not lacking anything. So you are either fully loving and being love through heart centred living, or you are having another agenda through the mind. Assume you are 100% love and take that as truth. Then your only decision will be on how to express that love. I heard my mentor once say, "some people say they have to open their heart and they can love again, I say, your heart is already open, you just have to choose how you are going to express it."
How will you choose to express your 100% open heart this week?

Authenticity (yes you!)

Veressent means true to your core nature (authentic nature). Being overstressed, overwhelmed, rigid, defensive, anxious, depressed, figity, scattered, is NOT in your core nature. Your core nature is to be vital. Your core nature is to be clear headed. Your core nature is to feel excited and fulfilled with life. The big 3. Vitality, Clarity and fulfillment.
So the question is...are you moving toward or away from those three?
If you are moving foward, great, keep doing what you are doing. If you are less vital, less clear, and less fulfilled that what you would like, this is just more of an obvious call to bring to your attention that something needs to change. Not a change in your environment or circumstance, but a change in you.
That next step, next perspective, next action that moves you more toward your core nature...and your body is a perfect feedback mechanism to tell you when you are moving in the right direction.
Exceptionally yours,

Dr. Steve

What if your only option today was to express love? There was no room for your personal stories, agendas, attitudes, or needs.
Today, is just a day to eminate and be love.
You will lift up your chest, breathe fully, roll your shoulders back, put a smile on your face and express the openness of your heart in spite of what your environment or your internal wiring might say.
How do you think your weekend might be? Do you think you might experience your life and people around you differently?
Have fun!
Steve

Internal Bodymind 101

Hey everyone, did you know that inside your bodymind is a "foreman or forewoman : )" that helps to coordinate all the 300,000,000,000 processess that are happening per second? You know, your immune system that works day and night, your hormones, your internal biochemistry, your muscles, your stomach acid, your blood pH levels, your urinary function, your kidney filtering etc. You know, all that stuff that you take for granted and don't have to think about. Do you know the name of the foreman/forewoman? His/Her name is the central nervous system. You remember from gradeschool (wait, we weren't really taught this..oops...would have been nice to know), your brain, spinal chord and nerves. Yeah, that system. It coordinates you, the whole you, the entire you. Kind of cool that it watches everything isn't it?
And if it is not working properly, say goodbye to sound sleep, healthy hormone control, proper digestion, clear thinking, great posture, and overall health....boooooooooo
By the way, this is the very system that we focus on in Network Spinal Analysis and Somatorespiratory Integration..the stuff we do in the office. This nervous system is your key to exceptional, vibrant health, and is the reason we do what we do.
It's nice to be reminded to what you are investing in....your present and exceptional future!
Dr. Steve