Let go of your lizard brain!
21 May
Take a look at these news items:
- Researchers discover a new species of frog at the Condor Mountain Range in Ecudor (another new species of frog was also discovered just days before in India)
- NASA astronomers uncovered what may be the earliest, most distant cluster of galaxies ever detected
- Archeologists on a dig in Texas dug up the fossilized jawbone of an unknown species of ancient reptile — one that had a 9-foot wingspan
Incredible isn’t it? And all of that happened THIS MONTH. The fact is, just when we start to think we’ve learned all we’re going to learn, we begin making new discoveries about the world — and universe — we live in.
It’s the same thing in health care. We go to school, get our degree, take continuing education courses and figure we know pretty much everything about maintaining wellness. Then along come innovative (even revolutionary) new ways to think about human health and we feel we’re back to square one.
Some people react by digging in their heels and rejecting all new ideas and theories because it would mean having to throw out some of our old knowledge, admit maybe we (and our teachers) were wrong, and turn left at the next intersection to go in a new direction.
Others accept change and even look forward to it. One magazine called this technique “ignoring your inner reptile.”
“There’s a part of the human mind that is often referred to as the ‘lizard brain,’ because it existed in even the earliest land animals. The lizard brain is concerned with survival; it likes the tried and true, so (when faced with change) it’s likely to pipe up … flooding you with adrenaline warnings of “Danger!” as you veer off course. This was a handy function to have when deviating from the familiar path to the watering hole may have led to an encounter with a saber-toothed tiger. But in the modern world it’s like a misfiring car alarm: pointless and annoying.” (10 ways you can embrace change – CNN.com.)
That’s what many chiropractors faced when the evidence began mounting that the neurological component of the subluxation was even more critical than the structural one. Looking at chiropractic as neurologically based means moving away from the old thinking about bones being out of place, and it’s not an easy transition for many doctors. That old lizard brain ambles to life and yells DANGER.
The lizard really starts spitting fire when we move even farther away from the watering hole and peer over the edge of the cliff leading to knowledge about bioenergetics, epigenetics, “quantum healing” techniques, etc.
Even though all these vitalistic approaches share much in common with traditional chiropractic philosophy, they don’t always fit nicely into the normal D.C. mindset — they’re too “new agey” for the skeptical scientist that lurks inside us.
If we reject all these new ideas out of hand, we’ll never lead the advance guard into the future; we’ll always be among those who simply bring up the rear. H.G. Wells once said: “New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled, the humiliating question arises, ‘Why then are you not taking part in them?’”
Funny how in articles like this macro-evolution is alluded to and is assumed to be a fact in spite of the extreme lack of evidence supporting it. No one seems to care about all the evidence against evolution; however, because man wants to be his own god, he continually concocts wild fantasies to support his godhood that ignore principles such as irreducible complexity while fabricating “important discoveries” that do not withstand scientific scrutiny.
When you read all those amazing discoveries, it seems even our advanced science is truly in it’s infancy.
Hi Terry
Very nice site design and interesting articles.
Smart idea getting on-line. Looking forward to interesting news and articles
Hal
Apparently the early adopters are those that have mastered their lizard brains. Interesting article, thanks.
Great info and past being needed for the Chiropractic profession! In light of what the British Chiropractic Association has just declared about the term “Vertebral subluxation” (with which I agree) but then offer no alternative for the advancement of the profession. Neurologically Based Chiropractic (NBC)offers us a firm footing for the first time in our history.
I’ve found that as I grow older, I have more and more trouble adapting to new ideas. It’s just harder than going along with the “tried and true” ones (easier to stay in the rut than climb out). Hopefully, the younger crowd won’t suffer the same inertia.
No matter which side of the evolution vs. creationism argument one takes, I hope we can all agree with the point of my post — that it’s important to keep an open mind and embrace new ideas (or at least not reject them because they are new). Too many traditional scientists have become so locked into their set concepts they won’t even consider new theories or possibilities. The end result is stagnation and the slow death of intellectual curiosity.
Funny how in articles like this macro-evolution is alluded to and is assumed to be a fact in spite of the extreme lack of evidence supporting it. No one seems to care about all the evidence against evolution; however, because man wants to be his own god, he continually concocts wild fantasies to support his godhood that ignore principles such as irreducible complexity while fabricating “important discoveries” that do not withstand scientific scrutiny.