We believe that health is an ongoing choice, not just a thoughtless assumption. That it is a state of mind, not a label to be handed out by ‘experts’ or a rarefied condition of perfect balance. That health is dynamic balance, flexibility, and most important, is measured not by your level of painlessness, but by your quality of life.
We believe that your health cannot be outsourced. You are the Chairman and CEO of your own health, the Director of your own Human Resources. That, as your own supervisor, you always have choices, and the ultimate decision about any path you take never rests with anyone but you. That you are the best judge of your own health, and what may be healthy for one person is not necessarily healthy for the next.
We believe that medical practitioners are useful and may occasionally be all that you need when things go off-track, but that if they don’t ‘fix’ you, it is your responsibility to heal yourself.
We believe that you should be prepared to ask questions of medical authorities, not because they are wrong or don’t care, but because they can never be as interested in getting you well as you are. And you should be prepared for the fact that they may indeed be wrong. After all, knowledge and wisdom are accumulated not by being correct from the outset, but by testing hypotheses, and every diagnosis you are given is simply a theory that is being tested…on you.
We believe that you are not a diagnosis, not a treatment, and that you cannot be categorized by the codes insurance companies use to name your chief complaint and decide whether or not it is worthy of being covered by your policy. That you are not a piece of meat on a table, a skin-bag full of blood to which pharmaceuticals may be added while you passively hope for the results of strange tests given by people you don’t know.
We believe that “diagnosis” is simply another word to classify your symptoms, but that word does not encapsulate the experience you are having, nor does it define your prognosis for improvement. We believe that everyone has the potential to be the exception to the rule, the aberration relative to others with the same condition, the one who bucks the trend and thrives in a way that may not have been predicted.
We believe that if you aren’t confident in what someone tells you about you, that some part of you may know better. That you may need a second opinion, or third, or fourth. And that you owe it to yourself to be sure all parts of you are in agreement about any course of action where your body is concerned.
We believe that doctors, homeopaths, nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturists, masseuses, shamans, pharmacists, astrologers, medicine women and men, nutritionists, naturopaths, priests, Ayurvedic practitioners, psychotherapists, yoga instructors, and tarot card readers are all fine resources, but in an age where information is both powerful and ubiquitous, you have a responsibility to become an expert on your own condition. That, when in pain (and otherwise), you should use your own power and the network of those who care about you to find out all that you can about your own situation, recommended diet, exercise, treatment options, and connect with other people all over the world who may be having the same experience.
We believe that, when you get right down to the root of it, the voice inside of you always has a positive intention, and that symptoms are not just something to be pushed aside, ignored, or “cured.” Rather, they may be seen as vital communications from your body about needed action, perhaps action in some other part of your body or your life that were not getting adequate attention. Setbacks and unintended consequences may also be lifesavers, temporarily limiting you in order to save you from a more ignominious fate that you may have otherwise suffered.
We believe that you are made up of the same stuff as the earth, the sky, the plants, the clouds, the stars…but not so much of plastics and parabens and pesticides and prescription medications. That innate health is your birthright because health is being in-sync with the world around you, the seasons, the food that grows where you do. That the universe is flowing through you, and when that flow stagnates, so does your health. That the best way to return to health is to welcome back into you what you have always been made up of. That like engenders like, good follows good, and nature knows best.
We believe that our beliefs are universal. That staying close to the rules and natural products of the earth are not the views of some ancient, alternative, or hippie lifestyle, but a sane and healthful way of living on this planet. That we all know this inside of ourselves, and that these words only seem foreign when we’ve lost touch with our health.