Thomas M. Collins, D.C. is a chiropractic physician in Sonoma County, California. In his years of private practice, he has incorporated many natural health approaches into his care of clients, including: health education , nutritional prescription , exercise rehabilitation, musculoskeletal manipulation, psychological and lifestyle counseling, meditation, stress management, botanical medicine, acupuncture, biofeedback, light therapy, and cranial electrical stimulation
Dr. Collins has established a consulting service called Health Transformations for individuals or groups seeking personalized guidance.
Chapter One - Causes of Ill Health
The causes of ill health in our society are many. They are not isolated within the bounds of our dysfunctional "health care system." Attitudes, goals, values, conditioning, and behavior which create sub-optimal health are pervasive throughout every aspect of our being. Indicated are:
the way we relate to our natural environment
the way we put our religious beliefs into actions
how our political system works
how we shape our minds
how we express our emotional selves
the way we relate to family, friends and other people
the impact of the legal system in our lives
the economic choices that we made
our failure, at the heart of the problem, to recognize how these varied and interrelated aspects of our being affect our health.
We can start by looking at our entire modern system of health care. It is dysfunctional, in part, because we are trying to apply modern technology to old out-of-date concepts about health. The outmoded philosophy of health we are still operating under, still trying to make the transition from, is one that has been around for thousands of years.
In ancient times knowledge of the human body, its workings, and its interactions with the natural world were very limited. Many misconceptions were prevalent about what caused ill health and what restored health when it was lost. Much of these earlier concepts were based on supposed actions in the spirit realm affecting the material world of humans. When things went wrong with crops, or ill health struck, this could not be understood by the knowledge of the time. So it was logical to assume that invisible "gods" were in control and that they had "reasons."
As knowledge about the world increased, either by trial and error or by the intuition of the more "intelligent" members of the community, important information was accumulated and transmitted from generation to generation.
Soon these wise men were identified as special and unique, seeming to have an exclusive rapport with the powers of the natural world and/or the realm of spirits. They became sorcerers, shamans, wise men, leaders, witch doctors, etc. Their knowledge and position usually brought them power, authority, respect, and wealth. We can assume that some used that power and wealth wisely, and that some did not.
Deep in the jungles of Borneo, thousands of years ago, the village medicine man stood over a feverish child. Long into the dark night he chanted in tongues unfamiliar to his people. His mind "illumined" by the ingestion of hallucinogenic plants, he danced in a frenzy around the stricken child for hours. The blackness of the night shrouded most of the village except for the small, sacred fire used to prepare the healing potion.
What we had eons ago were communities where the vast majority of individuals were ignorant about how the body works, health, or how health related to the natural world. There were also a few, special individuals on pedestals that had the power to heal, however crudely. The masses, not knowing much about how best to take care of their health, would eventually get sick. They would then turn to the witch doctor or shaman to intervene and fix them. This intervention would usually be between the person and the natural world, as in the use of herbs which the shaman had "mastered," or between the ill person and members of the community as the shaman played social psychologist. Or the medicine man might speak in a strange language with the gods and then intervene between the spirit world and the sick person.
They all stood over the critically ill child, masked in traditional costume for the occasion. There was no frenzied dancing now. It was morning. Bright light shone on the bloody scene. "Cauterize the bleeder. Number 3 cat gut suture. Add 3 cc's of epinephrine to the I.V. Get the methylmethacrylate ready. I need better imaging on the scope ...."
