It is the beginning of a new year, a time when people often take stock, reflect, and set resolutions.  What is a resolution?  Many people including myself have made New Year's resolutions only to have them fail.  Why is it so challenging to keep a resolution and how can one improve their chances of success? 

According to Webster's Dictionary the word resolution is defined as "the process of resolving something".  To improve our chances of resolving something I believe we must incorporate two components.  First, we must understand that resolution is a process.  Healing, growing, evolving, getting more fit, eating better and having more fun are all processes.  It is a process to go from your current state of consciousness, (which determines your current state of being), to your new state of consciousness (which will determine your desired outcome).

Second, we must work to change our entire consciousness, rather than just one piece of our behavior.  Behavior is a reflection of consciousness not the other way around, and as consciousness changes, behavior has no choice but to follow.  Let's consider this example:  Joe's New Year's resolution is to be healthier in 2008 and specifically, to quit smoking.  While this is an admirable goal, if the only thing Joe intends to change is his smoking habits, he has a limited chance of success.   It is challenging to live the same life and expect a different outcome.  Instead, if we focus on shifting consciousness, our entire mindset is different.  Joe's resolution could be:  I want to be healthier in 2008.  I will eat better, get adequate rest, have a positive mental outlook, go to the gym, take time for self reflection, and get adjusted regularly.  Now Joe has focused on all the positive attributes he wants to exhibit rather than the one negative he wants to remove.  By doing this he will notice that he's not hanging out in smoky establishments, he's taking his lunch outside, he's going to the gym, he's taking a class, or seeing a movie.  And, he's quit smoking.

By choosing to shift consciousness we are effecting what is known as the "be-do-have" paradigm.  When we focus on the BE (being healthy in this example), we will DO what healthy people do, and then we will HAVE the health we desire.  To often people only focus on the HAVE (in this example not smoking) but continue to DO all of their unhealthy habits (except not smoke) and are still BEING the same unhealthy person.  It is usually only a short time before their actions start reflecting their consciousness and they start smoking again.  To increase your chances of succeeding at your resolution, keep the Be-Do-Have paradigm in mind.
 

This year let's make a big impact.  Let's all achieve our goals and resolutions by accepting that resolutions are a process and that we must change our entire consciousness.  Share this with someone and soon we will have a better world for all of us.

We live in a "NOW" society, where people want everything yesterday.  We are accustomed to our cell phones, instant messaging, texting, blackberries, TV on Demand, etc.  This however is not the natural course of events.  Everything in nature takes time, everything is a process.  Life is a process, health is process, and even becoming  unhealthy or in a painful state is a process. 

People often begin chiropractic care thinking that if their pain started yesterday, then their problem must have started yesterday.  However, this is rarely the case.  There is a concept called threshold that has to be surpassed before the body has any awareness of a problem.  This means that enough tissue must be damaged to stimulate the correct nerve pathway to give one awareness of the problem.  By the time one starts to feel pain, this process has most likely been going on for months or years.  A common example is coronary disease:  a lifetime of poor food choices will narrow one's arteries.  Chest pains or a coronary incident at age 50 may be the first symptoms of this process.  However, the problem began decades ago.  As a chiropractor I look for "subluxations" or interference to the expression of nerve energy in the body.  I often find that that subluxations or injuries occurred years if not decades earlier and it has taken the body this long to reach threshold to have them be symptomatic. 

We can also apply the same ideas to healing.  Healing is a process not an event, and it takes time.  People often confuse "feeling better" with healing.  Feeling better only requires the body to get back under the threshold mark and does not do anything to fix the underlining problem.  This is why you may hear people say "I have a bad back" or "my back goes out a couple times a year".  These people have never truly healed from their injuries and teeter at the threshold border.  Healing is a process where all the damaged tissue dies and is replaced with healthy tissue.  This process can take months or years.  In Chiropractic we focus on the process of healing and we may see clients long after they are "feeling well". 

New Year's Eve Pasta e Fagiole

This is a great one pot recipe.  Our family likes to double it and serve it at our New Year's Eve dinner.

 Ingredients:

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery
2 large cloves garlic
2 large carrots
2 medium chopped zucchini
1 15 oz can great northern or canellini beans
1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
Pinch of dried oregano
¼  cup fresh parsley chopped
2 Tbs. cup fresh basil, loosely chopped
½ - 1 bunch fresh spinach (or chard, kale, or other winter green)
water
__________

1 pound short chunky pasta (ziti, spirals, shells, etc.)
Grated fresh parmesan
Salt to taste

Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in olive oil for a few minutes.  Add zucchini, garlic and any dried herbs and sauté a few additional minutes.  Add fresh herbs and black pepper.  Add greens and cook until wilted.  Mix in white beans and tomatoes.  Add water to make desired consistency.  Simmer at least one hour.

Cook pasta al dente in a large pot of boiling water.  Drain.

In individual bowls, serve pasta topped with the bean soup.  Top with fresh grated parmesan if desired.

Thursday January 24, 2008 8:00pm-9:00pm
Journey to Wellness Workshop
Dr. Anthony will give a talk on health, wellness and how to improve the quality of you life.  Learn how to take an active role in your healing process so you can make the most of your investment.  New and existing clients are welcome.  There is no charge for this event but please register with Dr. Anthony.

Thursday January 31, 2008 8:00pm-9:00pm 
Pre-natal Fitness Class
Thinking of becoming pregnant or already pregnant?  Then it's a perfect time to start an exercise program or learn to modify your existing program.  Come to this complimentary event and learn from Vionna Jones, DC's premier pre-natal personal trainer, how to accomplish these goals.  Owner of Fit In DC, Vionna has been featured in Washington Woman magazine and on WUSA9 for her innovative work.  Register with Dr. Anthony.